She's Everything
by Totally-Original
Summary: The assassin never wanted any of this. He purposefully distanced himself from all people because of it. And yet, he still decided to let that one person worm her way into his heart. He knew the outcome, but still accepted the risk. He knew he would pay for it dearly.
1. Part 1: Chapter 1

**Hello, I am an aspiring author hoping to hone my skills on this website. As this is my first story, please comment on how I could fix any mistakes concerning grammar, plot development, etc. I hope all who read this enjoy it, but if not please lend a little of your time to comment on how to make the story better. Disclaimer: I don't own any of Akame ga Kill, only my oc(s) and the story. All credit towards the makers.**

Such feelings were foreign to the hooded assassin. Every instinct gained over his brutal, yet short life went against the action formed within his head. It wasn't his fault. He warned the girl, many times actually, that this would happen. He told her over and over that another course would be better. She ignored him. Now, the feelings raging inside his heart provoked recklessness, anger, and loss of self-control. Giving in to these feelings would only get him killed, but what other choice did he have? She was- is- everything to him.

Gritting his teeth, he made up his mind. _'Don't you dare die on me. I'm coming for you Chelsea!'_ he thought as he then began to run through the trees, towards the person he loved most.

 _4-5 weeks earlier._

The hooded figure crouched behind the large crate and slowed his breathing. Any unnecessary noise would most definitely give him away, considering his target. Any mistake now would surely be the end of him. Moving as slowly and quietly as possible, he peeked around the box, confirming the location of every guard, innocent, and the commander. _'Two birds with one stone,'_ he thought as he eyed the guards celebrating what they thought was an enormous victory. The Capital's troops had killed not one, but two members of the legendary group "Night Raid". While most wouldn't even blink at the death of two people, Night Raid was an elite assassin group known for their extreme skills and the Imperial Arms each of them wielded. The only people known to have been able to kill Imperial Arms users are notorious for their own Imperial Arms. Of course, that's only the people that are known.

The assassin checked his darts, knives, and poisons before checking his two short swords and hidden blades for scratches. All clear. Once again checking the target's whereabouts, he climbed the back of a nearby building before jumping over to the bar where the people were celebrating. Word had gotten around that the commander in question had found an Imperial Arms, so the assassin was sent to recover the relic. However, his scouting had led to the discovery of another high-priority target: a simple bodyguard. Or it would so seem. This particular body guard was involved in a number of failed assassination attempts. No one knew how he did it, but the pattern set in as assassins realized that he was involved in every failure. His discovery made the assassin more cautious, but he was determined to complete his mission while also getting rid of the meddler. Two birds, one stone.

The assassin climbed into a room right above the bar, quickly locating a loose part of the flooring. He pried it up, and then dropped silently to the ceiling beams. Taking a quick check to determine if his entrance was detected, he replaced the floor boards and then jumped to the beam over the commander.

The commander never noticed anything, being too drunk on beer and the victory of his comrades. However, the bodyguard couldn't have looked more serious. _'Was the mission leaked? It's possible, although it's also possible that he could have guessed that a new relic user would be targeted. I wonder if he can predict my tactics.'_ The assassin took out one of his darts and a bow the length of his middle finger. Fitting the dart to the bow, he took aim at a guard that seemed unreasonably drunk, then fired it. The dart was coated with a testosterone concoction that, when it takes effect, makes the victim extremely aggressive to anyone and anything. With a direct hit to the bloodstream, it wouldn't take more than a moment. As predicted, the guard suddenly bent over coughing. When the other guards started to notice, he pulled his sword and attacked anything in front of him. In a scramble to protect himself, one of the guards pulled his sword, but accidently slit the throat of the guard next to him. Turning on each other, it turned into a full-blown bar fight. _'Like a charm.'_

Taking the chance, the assassin jumped from the beams, and using his hidden blades, quickly dispatched the commander. The relic was easy to identify, as it was proudly strapped to the commander's back. Taking the sword, the assassin tried to leave in the confusion, but _'Where is the bodyguard?'_ A slice at his side drew his attention away from his thoughts.

"Leaving so early? I don't think so, Night Raid." The assassin turned to see none other than his target.

"My mission is not yet complete. Why would I leave?"

"Ah, yes, so you figured it out. I'm quite flattered that your organization would go so far to get rid of little old me."

"Don't be. They only sent me. From your experience, it should be a quick fight." With that, the assassin whipped out his swords and attacked with both weapons to the right. The guard easily blocked, but only half the force expected was there. Widening his eyes, the bodyguard realized too late where the other sword was. The assassin changed directions mid-swing and quickly thrust into the guard's side. With a slash to the throat, the assassin killed his other target.

"I said it would be quick, did I not?" With the brawl still in full swing, the assassin calmly left the bar, right through the front door. Straightening his hood, the assassin walked into the streets, quickly losing himself among the people.

The next morning, the guards found a massacre. With witnesses talking about the bar fight, the commander was deemed a victim of the fight. The person with his throat slashed was also discarded, but his features were strangely different than what the assassin saw.

 _Two hours after assassination, Night Raid HQ_

"Once again, you surprise me with your resourcefulness. Are you still sure you don't wish to join us?" The silver haired woman asked the assassin.

"Once again you ask, and once again I refuse, Najenda. I have no wish to join your group, for they are too well known. It would be of no benefit." The assassin said. "Besides, I already take my contracts from you. Is that not enough?"

"If you decided to join, I wouldn't have to hide you from the rest of the members like a dirty little secret.

"We both know that argument won't get you anywhere." Najenda laughed.

"It is because of your perception that I wish you would join. With Sheele's, and more recently Bulat's, death it would raise morale to know that one as accomplished as you joined."

"My accomplishments are only known by me and my contractor. If your group knew about me, then that would only put them and I in more danger. The more people who know a secret, the weaker the secret."

"Yes, yes, we've gone over this before." Najenda sighed. "Why are you so against other people? I have never seen you socialize."

"That's because you've never seen me outside of either receiving a mission or reporting a mission."

"Something tells me you don't talk to people in your spare time."

"And you say I have perceptional skills." The assassin said with a smirk. "I must be going now. If it makes you feel better, then I will check Lubbock's wire traps every now and again. And possibly check the training habits of your other subordinates. If I see room for improvement, then I'll give you the tips to pass on."

"I would feel much better. Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. Thank me when it saves your friend's lives." The assassin walked to the door, and opened it slightly before stopping. "Oh, and the general says he has something you might want to check out."

Najenda nodded to him. "I will be sure to make time for it. Until next time, Jacobi." The assassin left without another word.


	2. Part 1: Chapter 2

**Hello again! This is the second chapter to "She's Everything to Me". I was hoping that at least some of you readers would review, but apparently not. However, that will not stop the story! I also realized after checking over my story that the first chapter was grossly short for my standards. I have corrected that with this chapter, so without further delay, I hope you all enjoy!**

 **...**

 _The dream felt so real to Jacobi. There he was, back at his family's house in the town just outside the capital. It was a sunny day, and Jacobi made the most of it. He ran outside with a huge smile on his face._

 _"_ _Come on sis! Try to catch me!" he yelled back to his little sister, who was already in hot pursuit. They ran all over their yard, each alternately chasing the other as their parents watched bemused. It wasn't until the sun began to set that the two kids decided to lay down on the grass, breathless._

 _"_ _That… was fun." Jacobi said in between pants._

 _"_ _When is it not?" retorted his sister, who managed to keep smiling despite the lack of oxygen._

 _"_ _Well, there was the time you got injured and I had to find someone else to play with."_

 _"_ _You're the one who injured me!"_

 _Jacobi only chuckled at his little sister. The two lay together on the grass until the sun set and gave way to night…_

 ** _..._**

Jacobi awoke with a small smile on his face. It took a moment to register where he was, in the little room he had rented. Reality hit hard, immediately wiping the smile from his mouth and replacing it with a grimace. Tears threatened to spill, but by sheer determination he kept them at bay. Leaving his bed, he walked to the table in the corner with the small amount of food he had. Eating a meager breakfast of a bread loaf and a glass of water, Jacobi wondered why his subconscious had to torture him with such dreams. ' _Any more of those dreams, and I might just go insane.'_

After eating, he slipped on his navy blue jacket and dark combat boots. Taking a look out his window showed that most of the residents of the town were already awake. The streets were not exactly crowded, but they had a decent amount of people conducting their daily business, with a few stragglers rushing through their morning commute. While the town in question had only a few people currently living in it, being so close to the capital made it a trading hub for merchants going to and from the capital. It also made the ideal setting for Jacobi to lose himself in.

 _'_ _With no assignments or contracts today I might as well check the area again. Ugh, this gets boring.'_ Starting his walk around the town, Jacobi looked around for any guards that might have been posted. While there had never been any before, one could never be too careful.

He had just passed a small bookstore when he saw an old man on the side of the road begging him for money. It seemed everyone else ignored the man, but Jacobi just couldn't take his mind off him. _'Well, I didn't want lunch anyways.'_ As Jacobi passed, he dropped a pouch full of money into the old man's lap. The man looked surprised, then opened his mouth to thank Jacobi. Jacobi, however, didn't want any extra attention so he just shook his head at the man. The man seemed to understand and closed his mouth.

 _'_ _Why do I have to be so nice? It's not like the man will use the money for something worthwhile, he's probably going to go to some bar. He might not even be homeless. Oh, well.'_ Distracted by his thoughts, Jacobi almost missed the merchant cart flying by. Looking up, Jacobi noticed that right in the way of the cart was a cat, _just lying in the middle of the street_. Without thinking Jacobi rushed into action, grabbing the cat and narrowly avoiding the hurtling cart.

From the cart he heard a long string of curses, probably about his recklessness and telling him to "Watch where you're going!" and other such phrases. However, Jacobi didn't care about the men in the cart. The only thing holding his attention was the little bundle of fur he was presently looking over for injury. The cat seemed perfectly healthy, with a slim build and a red bow tied onto it.

"You, my friend, are going to have to watch where you take a nap. Streets are not safe for little guys like you." The cat just stared at him, with what seemed to be mirth in its eyes. "And I'm talking to a cat. Seems even cats know that's weird." The cat just sat there, seemingly enjoying the conversation Jacobi was having with himself. "You know what? You should get out of here. Go; get back to your home, wherever that is." The cat took one last look at him then walked down an alley, disappearing from sight.

Brushing some dirt off his shoulders, Jacobi rose to his feet from his crouching position. Taking a look around, he saw that no one had even noticed him. _'Wow. It's barely noon and I've already lost my lunch to an old man and been made fun of by a judgmental cat. How could this day get better?'_ Fate seemed to hate the poor man, as Jacobi spotted an entire contingency of soldiers making their way through the village.

"Make way for the mighty general! Make way!" could be heard from the approaching regiment. Curious as to which exact general it was, Jacobi pulled on his hood and casually leaned against a building. While it wasn't the most ideal viewing spot, it would keep him close enough to see the general. As the troops passed, Jacobi looked to the section riding horses.

It wasn't hard to find the general. He was riding a horse obviously superior to the ones around him, with an imperial flag attached to the saddle of the horse. Not being able to see the facial features, Jacobi was about to move to another building when he noticed it. It shined against the sunlight, reflecting the rays as if it was a mirror. It was almost as if the amulet wanted attention, but that's not what rendered Jacobi speechless.

 _'_ _It's a crescent shaped amulet. It reflects light the exact same way, and I can even see the green gem beneath it. There's no question. That's the same amulet! That's Max Target!'_ Memories rushed to Jacobi's head in no discernable order. A sword, a child, multiple deaths, it all flashed through his mind. The only thing connecting those images was the flash from that amulet.

Now more determined than ever to find just who wore that amulet, Jacobi walked into a back alley and climbed the side of a building. Hoping to get a better view from higher up, Jacobi jumped from building to building until he could see the general again. The better viewpoint had exactly the effect Jacobi needed to see… his latest victim.

 _'_ _What? Him? I killed him the other night! I'm sure of it! How could he have survived?'_ It was the bodyguard Jacobi had stumbled onto on his mission to kill the commander. Somehow, someway, he had survived the assassination. _'Is it a look-alike? No, the features are too exact, down to the hair style.'_

Jacobi continued to follow the procession by rooftop, making sure to keep out of the soldiers' vision. He followed them to the edge of the town, but he only got one good glance at the general. _'Something about this is definitely not right. Najenda will want to hear of this.'_ Turning back, he climbed down the building and started walking towards his temporary apartment. He had a feeling he would need his swords.

 **...**

A cat watched from the darkness of the alleyway as Jacobi climbed down and headed back in the direction of his home. The cat then walked away.

 **...**

Jacobi reached the Night Raid headquarters shortly after the sun set. Finding the lever, he entered through the secret door to the basement. Najenda would always spend one hour a night down here, supposedly finishing contracts and such, but it was also in case Jacobi would have to talk to her. He only had to wait five minutes to hear her coming down the stairs, but for some reason it sounded like two pairs of footsteps. Voices gradually began to travel to the room.

"Leone, I really need to finish some things tonight." The voice was Najenda's.

"Aw, boss! You should really have some fun every now and then! Get away from the boring work!"

Quickly hiding amongst the shadows, Jacobi stayed perfectly still. If Leone found him it would cause unfortunate complications.

"That 'boring work' as you put it is what gives you your paycheck. Now, if you please, I really need to get this done."

"Aww. Can I at least see what's down here? You haven't let any of us see your office."

The voices stopped as Najenda seemed to be thinking. "If you see it, will you stop bothering me about my work?"

"Do I have to?"

"If you are to see my office, then yes."

"Fine. OK."

The two women rounded the last stairs and walked into the office. Najenda seemed a bit more tired than normal. The losses must have hit Night Raid harder than Najenda had originally let on. However, Leone seemed normal. From what Najenda said, Leone was almost never sad. Jacobi had only seen the feline seductress from afar, but he would have never guessed just how large her-

"Satisfied?" Najenda asked, almost sounding annoyed.

"Yep!" Leone said merrily. "Although, I don't understand why you're so secretive about this place."

"If I let you guys come down here regularly, then I wouldn't get any work done."

"Touché."

"Now, I need to get to work. Please leave." Leone started back up the stairs, but Jacobi waited until five minutes had passed to reveal himself. "I'm surprised to see you again so early, Jacobi. What's the occasion?"

"There's something definitely wrong going on within the capital. You remember the bodyguard that was foiling some of our assassinations?"

"Yes, but as I remember you killed him." Najenda looked at him quizzically. "Why are you bringing that up?"

Jacobi took a deep breathe, then exhaled. "I saw him. Today. Alive. He was in an army contingency passing through the town I was surveying."

"How is that possible? There's no way to bring dead people to life."

"That was what I was thinking, but it's definitely him." He seemed to think for a second. "Do you still have that book of imperial relics?"

"Yes, right here." She pulled out a copy of the book from her desk. "Why? Did you see one on him?"

"More like I remembered something from long ago." He flipped through the pages, but couldn't seem to find what he was looking for. _'Come on, it has to be here. Wait, what's this?'_ A torn piece of the book showed that there was once a page there, but it was… "Ripped out? Why would someone remove a page?"

"A better question is who had the access to remove it. It's obvious that somebody doesn't want us to know something. What were you looking for?"

"An imperial arms known as 'Max Target.'" Najenda visibly paled.

"Please tell me that you have said relic, and you're only trying to find out what its abilities are."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I saw it on the bodyguard. It was hanging around his neck, shining light like a star. After seeing it once, you never forget it."

"Wait, how have you seen it before? It was presumably lost long ago."

"Everyone has their secrets, and I'd rather keep mine. Just know that it wasn't a pleasant memory."

"Well, ok, but I'm rather amazed that you're still alive after going face-to-face with that relic. In any case, if it's in the possession of the bodyguard, then we need to make this a priority. I'll alert the-"

"I can handle it myself." Jacobi interrupted.

"Against such a power? You don't even have a relic to fight against it!"

"I have no intention of making it a prolonged fight. An assassination: quick, clean, effective."

"How will you get to him?"

"I'll figure that out as soon as I learn his schedule."

"Night Raid could finish him tomorrow night."

"Yes, but they'll turn it into a drawn-out fight, risking the both the target and your own people. While their undetected movement is something to be commended, their stealth combat is sorely lacking."

"Are you saying that they're not as talented as you?" Najenda asked pointedly.

"Not when concerning the arts of avoiding detection, yet still killing the target. Look at what you have: Akame's sword could work, but her approach is on the reckless side; Leone fights through brute strength, which makes a lot of noise; Lubbock depends too much upon chance; Mine's pumpkin makes an absurd amount of noise; and Tatsumi is made for heavy battles. Not a single one of them could get in and out completely undetected. They're too much on the warrior side."

"Why is stealth so important?"

"Because the only way to defeat this bodyguard is to prevent him from using the relic. Otherwise, not even an army of imperial arms would be able to defeat him."

Najenda froze. She couldn't speak. She had heard that Max Target was powerful, but never had anyone told her that it could do such a thing. "What are you not telling me? How do you know so much about it?"

"I told you, a person must keep their secrets. But even with my past experience, I still don't know the full extent of its powers. Mark my words; if you send Night Raid to kill that bodyguard, there won't be any members of Night Raid left."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes."

"Then so be it." Najenda gave up. If he wanted the mission so bad, then he'll get it. If he dies she could always go through with her original plan. "You have your mission, return victorious. If you so happen to return sooner than I expect, then you will have to wait. I'm leaving tomorrow to see that thing you mentioned to me."

"Ah yes. I'm sure you won't be disappointed."

"I certainly hope so." Najenda returned to her work.

Jacobi left through the door, returning to the night air. There would be no rest tonight, he had work to do.

 **...**

Leone decided to finally leave the stairs after she heard a door close. Eavesdropping was definitely worth it. _'What's this Max Target? Who's this Jacobi? Why does he only meet with boss late at night? And how does he know so much about us?'_ After some thinking, she came to one conclusion. _'I should tell Akame.'_

 **...**

 **Well, that concludes Chapter 2. I really am sorry for the exposition, but there was no way around it. Things begin picking up, both with the adventure and romance, in the next chapter. And PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW. It would help me so much!**

 **P.S. Shout out to SlightlyYandereMelissa for following and favoring my story! You are the official first to have done that! :D**


	3. Part 1: Chapter 3

**Well, another chapter finished. Enjoy the story, and don't be shy to review! Even flames would help me better the story, as that shows me what you guys like or don't like. So, let's begin the story!**

 **…**

Chelsea walked through the sea of tents with a lollipop in her mouth. She had a wide grin on her face, relieved to be finished with her scouting duties. _'All I have to do is turn this report in, then I'll have the rest of the day to myself! Maybe I can mess with the guards a bit. The shock on their faces at seeing the minister, or maybe even Esdeath, walk up to them and ask for coffee would be priceless! Although, they seem to prefer hookers.'_ An evil grin appeared on her face as she found the command tent and walked inside.

At a desk sat a captain that looked to be in his late-thirties. He wore a green shirt with khaki shorts, and small glasses rested on his nose. He looked up as Chelsea walked in.

"Ah, there you are. I was wondering when you would finally show up." He said in a deep voice.

"A general passed through one of the towns I was scouting. I guessed you would want me to check it out."

"A general? Which one? What was he doing?"

"I'm not sure who he actually is, but rumors are they call him 'The Deceiver'. Not sure why, but he had some necklace on his neck that shined really bright."

"Hm. I've never heard of this Deceiver. Must have recently ascended to the rank. What was he doing in the town?"

"He just passed through, seemed to be heading towards the capital. I couldn't get anything else on his intentions."

"There's no telling exactly what he plans to do. You may have to go back out sooner than you thought."

"Wait! Just how much time are we talking about? Today's my day off!"

The captain gave her a knowing look. "Yes, I realize that. I meant tomorrow."

"Oh." Chelsea let out a shaky breath. "Yeah, I knew that." She really needed her time off of missions. While her pranks were fun, it also took her time off of… certain events. "Say, you never told me in my mission briefing about the towns' settings! Nothing mentioned handsome village boys."

"I didn't think those existed. Seems you just got lucky." A slight grin showed on the captain's face.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get any ideas. Otherwise, I might just slip about a certain someone's staring at Major Shauna's assets."

The captain visibly paled. "Y-you wouldn't dare!" The look of horror on his face only increased Chelsea's feeling of victory. Everyone knew how the major would flip on anybody unfortunate enough to look at her longer than two seconds

"Maybe, maybe not. Have a good day captain." She said as she left the tent. The captain's remark replayed itself again and again in her mind. _"Maybe you just got lucky." 'Maybe I did. It wouldn't hurt to revisit the village again. Strictly on business, of course.'_ She discarded the lollipop stick currently in her mouth and was about to grab another when she was knocked to the ground.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Need a hand?" Chelsea opened her eyes to see a robotic arm offering help. She took it, then hoisted herself to her feet. "Sorry, I'm kind of in a hurry right now. Wasn't paying attention."

Chelsea just smiled it off. "No problem, I should have been paying attention." She looked at the figure in front of her, then something clicked. "Hey, aren't you the leader of that assassin group? Najenda, right?"

"Yeah. We need more recruits, and a friend said the army had something for me. Do you know if the general's tent has been relocated recently?"

"Yeah. Some worried people convinced the general to move his tent weekly, in case the capital attempted an assassination on us. It should be over there, next to the red flags."

"Thanks. Say, aren't you Chelsea?"

"What gave me away?"

"Last time I checked you still had Gaea Foundation. Also, not many people eat lollipops and wear headphones."

"Guilty as charged."

"Well, then you might want to follow me. I think you would want to see what the general has for me."

"Depends. Guess I'll make my decision when I get there." The two women began walking in the direction of the flags.

 **…**

 _'_ _I can't believe that the entire night was wasted.'_ Jacobi thought as he slowly walked through the crowded streets of the capital. _'I even camped outside the palace, but nothing came up. It's not going to look good when I made such a claim, but can't back it up.'_ He tiredly looked behind him at the palace. _'Najenda's a good person, but she won't understand. I'm not sure anybody could fully comprehend my condition.'_

Jacobi looked over at a mother and daughter, both just talking together in a contented peace. Turning away, Jacobi then saw a guy and his girlfriend having coffee at a nearby shop. _'Screw it all. Is this some sick joke? For me to be reminded daily of what I can never have?'_ Deciding he needed _something_ productive, he sat at a table out of sight of the dating couple and ordered a large of the strongest mix available. Waiting for the drink, a poster on the window caught his eye. It depicted two men fighting and read: "Fighting Tournament! Large Prize! Today!" Curious, he wondered just what kind of prize would be available. Finally, the waitress appeared with the drink.

"Hey, do you know where that tournament is taking place?" he asked.

"Yes, in the stadium near the palace. I hear that General Esdeath is personally sponsoring it."

 _'_ _Really? I wonder just what she could be planning. Whatever it is, I doubt it'll end well for us.'_ "Are there any rumors as to why? It's not normal to just start a high-reward tournament without a reason."

The waitress seemed hesitant, but leaned her head in closer. "It seems she's looking for someone to fall in love with. The tournament is to see who's compatible with her; although rumor has it she set really high standards. I wouldn't be surprised if she had multiple tournaments in an attempt to weed out that one special guy." Jacobi had had enough. He slammed his head against the table. "Whoa, what are you so bent up about?"

 _'_ _She's just a waitress. What harm can the truth do?'_ "Love seems to be one of my failing points right now. It seems that every other minute that fact is shoved in my face."

She seemed taken aback, then flashed an evil grin. "Oh, if you're having such trouble finding that 'special someone', then I might be able to help you."

Jacobi did a double-take. "Wait, that's not what I-"

The waitress put her finger on his mouth. "Hush. Come back here at about six, that's when I get off." She winked at him, then went to attend to the other customers waiting.

 _'_ _Oh my gosh, what have I done? Now I'm going to feel bad for not showing up. Just my luck.'_ He sighed then took a sip of his drink. _'Well, it can't be helped. If I told her why I couldn't date her, then she would probably hate me. Best case scenario she'd call the guards. I can't let that happen.'_

Jacobi grabbed his cup and started heading in the direction of the stadium. As he left the shop, Jacobi noticed that the couple was still talking. The girl seemed to laugh at a particularly funny story. _'A guy can dream.'_ Giving one last envious look, Jacobi started walking.

 **…**

"Alright General Kota, what do you have for me?" asked Najenda. It seemed that the actual location of the tent was not near the flags, or the banner, or any other such landmark. After an hour of asking directions, the two women had finally located their destination. While Najenda seemed almost ready to burst, Chelsea decided that going along was one of her more brilliant ideas. Of course, she would never mention to Najenda that she knew exactly where the tent was the entire time.

"Najenda, it's nice to see you. I'm glad you finally got my message."

"I actually got it a few days back, but certain events forced me to wait."

"I understand. It seems like we're losing more and more people every day." The general seemed a bit worried with the casualty count.

"Yes, and that is the second reason I came here. I need some talented individuals who could serve as new recruits for Night Raid. Some new people would raise the morale of the team."

"Did you ask-" Kota looked at Chelsea. "- _him_ yet? I'm sure that he would accept, if only to help everyone else."

"Yes, on multiple occasions; he denied every time. It seems he is determined on being a loner. However, when I questioned his reasoning he gave a less than satisfactory answer. Is he hiding something?"

"I'm positive of it, but there's no way to make him say what. I'm afraid he may defect if he feels too pressured."

"Well, in any case, what did you have to show me?"

By this point, Chelsea was very confused. _'Who are they talking about? Must be some person if even his name is top-secret. But why would he reject joining Night Raid?'_

"Something we found quite by accident. Please follow me ladies." Kota said as he walked to a closed off section of the tent. Kota lifted the material covering the room, and the three filed in. Inside the room was a bed with a sleeping man on it.

 _'_ _What's so special? Wait, are those horns?!'_

"By now I would assume you've noticed the horns. Let me introduce you to the imperial arms Susanoo."

"How powerful is it?" Najenda asked.

"By the records we have found, it is a great warrior. It is fiercely loyal, and can do a lot of things other relics can't."

"Such as?"

"It does all your housework for you. Cooking, cleaning, building, etc. are just a few of the things Susanoo can do."

Najenda's eyes turned into stars. "That's amazing! Susanoo sounds like just what we need!"

Chelsea cut in, "Yeah, and he's awake now." Both Kota and Najenda turned to see Susanoo sitting up in the bed.

He looked at Najenda and stood up. He walked right in front of her, then bowed. "Hello, my name is Susanoo. What are your orders, master?"

Najenda bowed back. "I'm glad to meet you, but call me 'Najenda' instead of master."

"Of course Najenda."

Najenda turned a quizzical eye towards Kota. "Are you sure you don't need him? From what you've told me, wouldn't he be helpful to you?"

"He hasn't awoken to anybody else. It seems that he chose you, Najenda. Besides, I would do anything to help the Revolutionary Army's most productive section."

Najenda bowed to Kota. "You are too kind. I will use your gift to the maximum potential."

"I'm glad to hear that. Anyways, I must look over some reports. Well done, Chelsea, on finding that general. We're already organizing a group to go and infiltrate the palace in search of him. Would you be interested in joining? You are one of our best when it comes to such missions."

Chelsea almost snorted. _'One of the best? Who do they think is better than me? I'll take this mission, just to prove there's nobody better than me.'_ Chelsea looked at Kota and almost spoke when she saw Najenda looking at her. _'What? Wait, didn't she say she needed new recruits? Then maybe…'_ Chelsea looked once again at Kota. "I will have to deny."

Kota's reaction was instantaneous. "Why? You have never rejected a mission!"

Chelsea took out her lollipop stick, threw it away, then replaced it with a new lollipop. Najenda's and Kota's eyes never left her as they patiently waited for an explanation. As soon as she was finished, she took a deep breath. "I would like to join Najenda in Night Raid. They have lost two members, so I would like to even it up again."

A wide smile spread across Najenda's face. "A new member such as her would surely increase Night Raid's effective power. If it is ok with you, I will grant her request."

Kota looked reluctant. "Are you sure Chelsea? Your skills are rare, and could definitely help the Revolutionary Army."

"You see, I'm not exactly a soldier. I was an assassin before; I would probably help more as an assassin again."

"I was afraid you'd say that. If you see no reason to stay here, then I see no reason to hold you back."

"Thank you General Kota."

Najenda tapped Chelsea's shoulder. "We should probably get going. It's a bit of a long way, so we should leave as soon as possible."

Chelsea nodded. "I understand. I'll quickly grab anything I need, and meet you by the camp's east entrance."

"I'll see you then." Najenda, Susanoo, and Chelsea left the tent.

As Chelsea walked to her own tent, one thought ran over and over in her head: _'Please don't be like last time. Please don't be like last time. Please don't be like last time.'_

 **…**

The tournament was rather boring. The only upside was that a lot of officials had come to see just who would win. _'There's a small chance that the general will show up. If he does, then I can move to take him out. If he doesn't, then I'll just look for another opportunity. I'm pretty sure Esdeath won't be impressed with any of these fools. I can wait until the next tournament. Oh, here comes the next batch of-'_

Jacobi's breath caught in his throat. _'What the heck is Tatsumi doing here?! Does he want to get himself caught?'_ Jacobi tried to listen to the officials when two shouting voices could be heard over the crowd. They seemed oddly familiar, yet Jacobi was unable to place just where he heard them before.

"Yeah! Go Tatsumi!"

"Beat him up!"

 _'_ _Holy crap that's Leone and Lubbock's voices! And they're coming from… right across from me?! There goes my plan; if they see me I'm screwed big time.'_ Jacobi was trying to figure out a path to leave the stadium without being seen when he realized: _'They don't know me. I've seen them, but they've never even heard of me! How could I have forgotten that?'_

Relaxing again, Jacobi decided to just watch the match. It was clearly one-sided, as Tatsumi easily dispatched his larger opponent. Tatsumi had started celebrating when Esdeath left her seat. She walked slowly down to the arena, stopping before Tatsumi. That's when she put a collar on Tatsumi and dragged him into the palace.

 _'_ _What? What the heck just happened? Did she discover Tatsumi's affiliation with Night Raid?'_ A quick look in Leone and Lubbock's direction told him they were thinking the same thing. _'Wait, this tournament was for Esdeath to find who she loved… so if she took Tatsumi… darn it!'_ Jacobi face-palmed loudly. It was official; fate hated him.

The loud noise caused Lubbock to look at Jacobi. "Hey man, you ok? You look like you just found out that fate hated you."

 _'_ _You don't know the half of it. Wait, he's talking to me! That's bad, but it would be worse if I was silent. Then he'd definitely remember me.'_ "Ah ha-ha, just dealing with some personal problems! I have to go now though."

"Ok, hope you find a solution to your problems!"

"Thanks, I hope so too." Jacobi smiled and walked towards the arena exit.

 **…**

Leone looked at the man Lubbock had just talked to. _'That voice is familiar. Somewhere, somehow, I've met that guy before. But how? His features are completely new to me. I'll ask the others when I get back. Something just doesn't seem right. However, we should probably save Tatsumi first.'_

"Lubbock, we should head back."

"No kidding, let's go!" The two got out of the arena and ran back to Night Raid's base.

 **…**

 _'_ _That was stupid of me. I could have been revealed. Something tells me I won't be able to fool them so easily next time.'_ Jacobi walked back to the arena, seeing a few people talking about what they had just seen. He took a seat and pulled up his hood. Concentrating on the nearby windows of the palace, Jacobi tried to catch a glimpse of any lights that may have shown. Then, it happened. It was nothing but a quick flash, but it was definitely there. _'Finally. Let's get started.'_

Jacobi calmly left the arena, then turned in the direction of a gate leading into the palace. There were two bored-looking guards posted. Each holding a spear, they visibly stiffened as Jacobi approached.

"Excuse me sirs, but I'm a bit lost. Can one of you please point me in the direction of the nearest bar?" Jacobi swayed, acting drunk.

The guards let out a laugh. "It's just a stupid drunk."

Jacobi continued to stumble towards them until he got within an arm's reach of them. One of the guards pointed in a direction over Jacobi's shoulder, but before the guard could utter another word Jacobi had grabbed the arm and pulled it towards him. Quickly switching out his hidden blades, Jacobi stabbed the guard twice in his gut. The other guard swung his spear, but Jacobi grabbed the haft of the spear. With his attention on trying to wrench the spear from the guard's hand, Jacobi barely dodged the knife coming at him.

The guard hit Jacobi on the head with the bottom of the spear, then tried skewering him. Jacobi was just able to grab his swords and deflect the incoming spear. The guard and him just stood across from each other, both trying to guess what the other would do next. The guard feinted a swipe to the right and switched to the left, but Jacobi easily parried the attack. Going for broke the guard stabbed quickly towards the abdomen, but Jacobi used his swords to push the spear up. With the weapon hitting nothing but air, Jacobi quickly swiped at the haft, effectively cutting it in two.

Now defenseless, the guard tried running away but was only met with Jacobi's two swords at his throat. Jacobi walked inside the gate, with one guard dead on the ground and the other separated from his head.

 _'_ _That was too easy. Why didn't the guards call out? I might have been overrun, or just forced to retreat, if they had decided to sound the alarm. Were they just stupid?'_ Jacobi walked into the courtyard, only to be surrounded by dozens of troops. _'Oh. So that's what they were doing.'_

"Stop there assassin! You're surrounded! We have been ordered to take you alive, but we will shoot if you show any signs of aggression!" Jacobi sighed, and then knelt on the ground. Two guards approached quickly, but carefully. Putting handcuffs on him, they led him into the palace.

 **…**

 **Okay, another chapter done. Sorry for the extended wait, this took a bit longer to think through than I had anticipated. I hope you guys enjoyed it, and please review how you think it could be better. The reviews that I did get were awesome! Thanks for the support!**

 **Thanks to: Silver Highwind, John (Guest), and xXDarkxAssassinXx for reviewing!**

 **Also thanks to: Silver Highwind, IAmWhoeverIWantToBe, swiftmedusa404, xXDarkxAssassinXx, G0DSeranaFT, and Caelis Infernum for following/favoring the story!**


	4. Part 1: Chapter 4

**And yet another chapter is finished. Once again, enjoy!**

 **…**

Jacobi was thrown into the small cell unceremoniously, him landing in a heap in the middle of the cell. The guards had taken all of his gear, as well as his jacket and boots. With only his dark pants and t-shirt, Jacobi shivered. _'What do they plan to do with me? Have a public execution? Torture me?'_ Unsure of his fate, Jacobi got up and walked to the cot in the far left corner. He then sat down and rubbed his sore wrists. _'Those guards could have been a bit gentler with the shoving. They must think I'm part of Night Raid, so they are probably taking out their resentment for their fallen comrades on me. I really can't blame them.'_

As Jacobi was thinking, a dark figure entered the room. While the figure may have gone undetected to others, Jacobi noticed the figure out of the corner of his eye.

"I can see you, you know. You don't have to hide in the shadows like some sort of ghost."

"Ah, but you see I _am_ a ghost. I am unseen, unknown. Even to you, though I commend your observation. I bet you're recommended as one of Night Raid's finest."

Jacobi laughed. "I'm not even Night Raid. So that's what you think? You have the wrong guy, so just let me go."

It was the shadow's turn to laugh. "You may have fooled me, if not for your weaponry. While you may not be officially a member, you share their spirit. You think this is a corrupt capital, and you wish to kill the minister so you can rebuild a just and righteous country."

Jacobi gasped inside, but kept a calm exterior. _'How can a simple man deduce another's intentions with minimal information? I've barely met him, and yet he already knows my motives.'_

The shadow seemed to gloat in Jacobi's confusion. "Not just anybody could guess the motivation for the group. It's a complexity, a mystery, and I excel at mysteries. Why does the capital allow poor treatment of its citizens? Why does it allow those with authority to treat others as less than dogs? It all roots back to the minister and his corruption of the Emperor." The shadow looked at Jacobi. "But, as bad as it may seem, what would happen if this new government arose? Do you truly believe that a country can remain honest forever? It's not possible. The cycle will continue again and again, until the citizens destroy themselves with rebellion. This is inevitable."

The shadow stood up and started pacing. "The government now may be corrupt, but it has a strong guard. It is capable of both defending itself and attacking others. Any and all revolutions will be crushed."

Jacobi grasped at the opening in the conversation. "That thinking is exactly what will bring the capital down. Their own overconfidence will be used as a weapon against them, and their resolve will look like nothing against those who seek freedom for all."

"There is no such thing. No matter how you place it, somebody gets cut short. There is either free enterprise, with people starving in the streets, or you take from the wealthy and give it to the poor. Not everybody inherited their fortune, so what do you say to those who earned it? 'Sorry, but we're taking all your hard earned money and giving it to people who can't get a job?' While the current system may be wrong, it's no more wrong than any other system. They all end with riot."

"If you understand this, then why do you fight? Even if a country ends in disaster, we can still fight for the temporary peace."

"Peace is love between others, is it not? Love means order, while war means chaos. You see, I feed off chaos because it is a complexity. Complexity, not love, is what makes a man happy. I am strong for realizing this; anybody who believes in love is weak and deserves a miserable life. They deserve every fail, torture, and death possible."

Jacobi recoiled. _'Those words. I know those words.'_

"Ah, I see you recognize my speech. I have given it but a few times, but now that I think about it, you seem familiar. Those grey eyes are most unusual. What is your name?"

Jacobi looked up with menace. "What is yours, or is it such a complexity that I won't be able to say it?"

The shadow merely laughed at the venomous comment. "I am known by many names, but my most common one…" The shadow looked Jacobi dead in the eyes. "…is 'The Deceiver'. The complexity is not in the name, but that which lies behind it. Now, I have told you my name. What is yours?"

"Jacobi. My name is Jacobi."

"What an interesting name to such an interesting man. I shall enjoy our talks." With that, the Deceiver left the cell area, still clinging to the shadows.

Jacobi shivered. _'He said 'talks'. There's something he wants from me, and I'm going to have to talk to him until he gets it. I just hope I can remain calm through them all.'_

Jacobi's mind turned to when the Deceiver mentioned that complexity was strong. _"Complexity, not love, is what makes a man happy. I am strong for realizing this; anybody who believes in love is weak and deserves a miserable life. They deserve every fail, torture, and death possible." 'I wish I could have seen his face. Something tells me that everything will be clear as soon as I know what he looks like.'_ Exhausted, Jacobi curled up on the cot and fell asleep.

 **…**

It had been two days since Jacobi had been brought to the cell. Every three hours or so Jacobi would be brought to a dark room where he would converse with The Deceiver. Even with his efforts focused on who the Deceiver was behind the darkness, he could glean only the tiniest particles of information. It seemed that the Deceiver predicted what Jacobi was going to say and already knew how to skillfully turn the conversation in another direction. It was frustrating.

However, Jacobi did find ways to fool the guards into showing him around the castle. Within an hour of walking around, Jacobi had already located his gear and was even able to grab one of the aggression darts. With nothing else to do, Jacobi studied the dart. He turned it in his hands and gently touched the tip, being especially careful not to pierce himself. A clear liquid formed a miniscule drop on his finger. Yes, the serum was still wet. It needed to be if his plan were to succeed.

Right on time, the two guards appeared to take him to the Deceiver. _'I'm not going back there, no matter how respectful the Deceiver pretends to be. I know he's just doing it to gain my trust, so I might as well remove the temptation.'_

The guards led Jacobi across a courtyard. This particular part was a key component to Jacobi's plan as all he needed was a passing group. Just as predicted, a small band of guards walked towards them, not even glancing at the prisoner in handcuffs. Jacobi waited until the perfect moment, then "tripped", falling into one of the passing officers and sticking him with the dart. Jacobi immediately steadied himself and started muttering apologies.

"Watch yourself, _peasant_."

"I'm so sorry sir, these guards kept pushing me and I fell. I'm extremely sorry."

"Make sure it doesn't happen again." As the officer was speaking, Jacobi could see his eyes dilate. The serum was taking effect.

As quick as a knife, the officer pulled his sword and attacked the two guards beside Jacobi.

"Sir, what's wro-?!" was all a guard could get out before his throat was slashed. He fell to the ground in disbelief.

Not willing to take the same chance, the other guards drew their own swords and prepared to defend themselves. Jacobi quietly snuck away. He found a nearby bush and hid behind it, watching the scene unfold. The battle was quick, but bloody. While the officer was obviously skilled, he was no match for multiple opponents. The remaining guards caught their breath before one spoke up.

"Hey! Where's the prisoner?"

"He must have made a run for it! Quick, to the gates! Sound the alarm that a prisoner's on the loose!"

The guards quickly ran in the direction of the gate. Jacobi waited until the coast was clear, then ran to the guard who had his throat slashed. He took the keys and unlocked his hands before running in the direction of his gear. It didn't take long for him to get to the room and don his weapons, but the alarm bells were already ringing.

Jacobi slowly made his way to the gate, hiding whenever soldiers would pass by. Only encountering one close-call, it was relatively easy for the experienced assassin. He finally reached the gates, only to discover an entire legion waiting for him. _'Darn it! I didn't expect so many. I'll have to find another route.'_ A look around revealed the stairs soldiers used to man the walls. _'I can get on the wall, then jump off. I've survived further falls.'_

Jacobi sneaked to the stairs, then ran up onto the wall. Only for him to discover that the walls were manned as well.

"There he is! Get him!" While in other situations Jacobi would have been effectively screwed, the compact space on the wall only allowed a single guard to reach him at a time. Jacobi quickly pulled out his swords and cut the head off of the first soldier. He then stabbed the second in the stomach and pushed him into the other guards. It was like a domino effect, each knocking the other down. He prepared for the next to come, but he could only last so long in a prolonged battle. The front soldier pushed the dead one's body off of him, then readied his sword again.

The soldier charged, but a crossbow bolt flew through his chest. Jacobi was as startled as the guard. Another bolt, this one with a rope attached, soared into the wall and embedded itself into the stone. The rope was pulled taught from the other side. Confused, but taking a chance, Jacobi leaped onto the rope and ran across. The guards tried cutting the rope, but cover fire prevented them. Jacobi got to the last few feet, then jumped onto the building the rope was tied to.

"Thanks." Jacobi said to the figure next to him. He was around Jacobi's height, but seemed older. He had a crossbow in his arms, and seemed capable with it. A green jacket was on his shoulders, with the hood neatly folded behind his neck.

The person let loose one last bolt before cutting the rope himself. "No problem. I know what it's like in there, and I can't blame you for trying to escape."

"Wait, you escaped from there?"

"Yeah, a few months ago. Although I must say that I made less of a ruckus than you did. You nearly got caught, my friend."

"What'd you get caught for?"

"Let's just say it wasn't pleasant. Now, let's get out of here before the guards realize they can just follow the rope to our location." The two climbed down the building, and simultaneously pulling up their hoods, blended into the crowd.

"I didn't think you knew how to go undetected." Jacobi remarked.

"I only escaped prison; it would make no sense that I would also know how to avoid people."

"Well, you just seem more the outgoing type than the stealth type."

"And you seem like you wouldn't make assumptions after two seconds. I guess both of our books are different than our covers." After the two realized that the guards probably wouldn't know where they were, they slowed down to a walk. "So where do you plan on going? Do you have a house nearby or something?"

"I need to get out of the city. Know a way?"

"Sure, but it's a bit of a walk. This way." The archer turned onto a busy street and headed towards a more impoverished section of town.

"What's your name? I didn't get to ask with the escape and whatnot. I've really just been thinking of you as 'crossbow-guy'."

"Oh! Totally forgot that. The name's Indra." He offered his hand for a shake. "And your name is…"

Jacobi took the hand and shook it firmly. "Jacobi."

Indra stopped and hid in an alley, dragging Jacobi with him. "Well, Jacobi, we may have a problem."

Jacobi peeked outside the alley to see a group of guards inspecting people that were passing through the area. After every inspection, the guards showed a sketch of Jacobi.

"They already have flyers with my face. What now?"

Indra seemed to think for a bit. "We could use someone else as a distraction. While they're getting inspected, we can pass by."

"We'll have to run."

"I can handle a free run, what about you?"

"Same, but not for long. There's someone now, let's go." The two walked behind an elderly lady, pulling on their hoods in an attempt to conceal themselves. The guards stopped the elderly lady and began looking through her belongings.

"Lady, have you seen this man before?" The guard asked as he searched through the bag she held. As the guards seemed distracted, Jacobi and Indra tried slipping by. However, the old lady saw them and pointed at them.

"Isn't that him? He seems awfully suspicious with the hood and all." The guards looked over at the two, immediately realizing the situation.

"Stop those two!" one of the guards yelled.

"Run!"

The two took off, the guards in hot pursuit. Jacobi constantly looked for anything to help them lose the guards. They turned a corner, and dove into a shop. They hid behind some shelves and listened to the guards running past.

The guards seemed to stop in their confusion. "Where did they go?"

"You two go ahead. I will check out the shops in the surrounding area."

"You take care of yourself."

"Same."

Jacobi heard footsteps leaving, and then the other guard looking around the area.

"Jacobi, what now?" Indra whispered across the aisle.

"I thought you were the guy with a plan!"

"You're the one who escaped the prison single-handedly. I had help from inside."

"But-"

"Hello soldier! How may I help you today?" Jacobi and Indra froze.

"Have you seen this man? He was seen earlier running through this area."

"What did he do? He does seem familiar."

"He escaped the prison. The general wants him found. Need any other reasons?"

"Oh, no. You misunderstood me, sir. Right this way." The store owner led the guard to a position facing away from Jacobi. Realizing his chance, Jacobi motioned for Indra to flank left. Indra nodded, then took out a dagger from his boot. Taking right, Jacobi started sneaking towards the guard.

"You see sir, I thought they might have been here, but they might have been-"

Jacobi stabbed the guard in the side, and before the guard could call out Indra slashed his throat. He fell to the ground dead and bleeding.

The shop-keeper looked appalled. "You couldn't have made it a cleaner kill?! I just cleaned those floors!"

Indra laughed. "What's the fun in that?"

Jacobi could only stare. "You have _got_ to be kidding me. You?!"

The shopkeeper looked at Jacobi closely. "Hey, you're that guy from the arena. How are your personal problems going? But then again, you're a wanted man, so I'm guessing not so well."

"Yeah, long story. Believe it or not, this actually has nothing to do with those."

"Well, name's Lubbock. Nice to re-meet you." Jacobi shook his outstretched hand.

"Yeah, I guess. Anyways, we have to go now. Nice seeing you and all, but, as you said, I am a wanted man."

"Wait, I may have a job offer for you two." The two looked at Lubbock, Jacobi with a knowing suspicion, and Indra with interest. "Wait right there, I'll just get the paperwork and such with details on what I want you two to do." He then left to the back room of the shop.

Indra looked to Jacobi. "Do we want to have a new job?"

"We should leave."

"But it's free money!"

"Trust me, you don't want this job."

"What could be so bad about a bookstore?" However, Indra followed as Jacobi left.

 **…**

Lubbock gathered all the paper work needed and walked back out. _'Just wait until Ms. Najenda sees me bringing in_ two _new recruits! And good ones at that! She'll finally be impressed!'_

Lubbock walked back into the shop with the paperwork. "Alright, you just need to sign this- WHAT?" The shop was empty. Lubbock's mood instantly fell. "There goes my chance to impress Ms. Najenda." He sighed and walked towards the closet. _'Now I don't even have anyone to help me clean up the blood. Darn it!'_

 **…**

"Thanks for helping me Indra." The two stood at the entrance of a hole leading to the outside.

"It was no problem. Are you sure you can survive without my problem solving skills?" Indra smirked.

"I've lived through worse than what we saw in those skirmishes today. I am a professional assassin after all."

"Wait, what? You never mentioned that you're a professional at this."

Jacobi rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, sorry. I guess I forgot to mention it in all the sneaking around and stuff. Seriously, how did you think I knew all those skills? And I even ran across a freaking rope!"

"I guess I just thought you were some parkour expert or something."

"I'm almost happy with that comment. The only problem is that there's no 'master assassin' in front of 'parkour expert.'"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night. Anyways, I guess I'll see you around. Later."

Jacobi started to walk away, but thought better of it. "Why did you help me? It only put you at risk. Any sensible person would have left me to die. So why didn't you?"

"Firstly, I'm going to let that comment about me not being sensible slide. Secondly, I was put in prison because I did something bad. I mean, _really bad._ I was headed for execution, until some guard took pity on me. Guess he had just seen too much death. He helped me get out, but he died before I could come back for him. Because of his sacrifice, I promised I would help anyone attempting to escape. Although, there really wasn't anyone until you showed up."

Jacobi smirked. "I'd be dead before I allowed some stupid guards to get the last laugh. However, should the guards in some way trap you, then I'll do everything possible to help you out."

"Yeah right, like that'd happen to me. If anything, you'll need my help before the week's over. Then, I _might_ help you if I feel like it."

Jacobi laughed. "Until next time, friend."

Indra chuckled before giving in to a large smile. "Until next time."

 **…**

When Jacobi reached Night Raid Headquarters, he saw nothing but a battle scene. _'What could have happened? The only good I can see out of this is that there aren't any Night Raid casualties. Or, at least that I can see.'_ He walked to the basement, and saw a note nailed to the table. It read: _Jacobi, we were attacked by Esdeath's men. While he proved to be a tough fight, none of us were hurt. We are currently in a danger beast infested area in the mountains. Go to the coordinates 10, 35, 96. Try to keep your distance, as one of the new members may think you're an intruder. –Najenda_.

Jacobi sighed. _'So they're okay, that's good. I guess she found Susanoo, but is there another? It's probably just some wannabe assassin trying to make a name for himself. I didn't think Najenda took those, but you never know.'_

Jacobi started a fire in the basement, and burned the note. His work finished, Jacobi left for the new base.

 **…**

After locating the base, Jacobi scouted the area. Finding a high mountainside, Jacobi climbed to the top and camped in the clearing. He fell asleep in a wink.

 **…**

 **Please review on what you thought of the chapter or the story in general. A special thanks to all who've reviewed, as well as Keeper of the One Winged Angel and sakata99 for favoring/following my story. I'm already working on chapter 5, so it should be up in a few days at most.**


	5. Part 1: Chapter 5

**Look, I'm going to say first and foremost that I should have finished this sooner. I got sidetracked with friends, the restart of school, etc. However, I had plenty of free time and definitely had the ability to complete this in less time than a week. For that, I offer a sincere apology. I worked extra hard on this chapter to make it up to you guys, so please comment what you think.**

 **…**

Jacobi woke up with a start. _'Where am I?'_ The events from the previous day passed by, and he suddenly remembered. _'Oh, yeah. What a crazy day yesterday. Now that I think about it, I never ate since yesterday's breakfast. I'm completely famished.'_ He climbed out from the thin sheet he used for comfort, and got to work collecting firewood. He made a nice pile, then set it on fire. He used the fire to cook some rations that Jacobi had packed for such situations.

He slowly chewed some lukewarm beef, trying to savor what little flavor remained in the meat. He finished the meal, then rose to his feet and began stretching. He bent to touch his toes, but he noticed something poking out of the bushes. It seemed to be a dark blue lizard of some sort.

 _'_ _That's one pretty big lizard. It's at least as big as a dog, maybe bigger.'_ The strange lizard seemed oddly interested in Jacobi, staring straight at him and flicking its tongue at him. _'It probably smelled the food.'_

Deciding to find out just what the lizard was, Jacobi slowly walked towards it. Always on guard to any weapons the lizard may have, he got closer and closer to it. Jacobi finally got to a distance where he could clearly see the features.

He looked at the lizard curiously, as he had never seen anything quite like it. It had light blue sides, and a deep blue stripe going down the middle of its back. The underbelly, or at least what Jacobi could see of it, was a vibrant red. _'Strange, it doesn't seem like it would be good camouflage, and there are no natural defenses for it. It's almost like it wants attention…'_

Jacobi leaned toward the lizard, and in response the lizard slowly opened its mouth. A light could be seen inside, and it got brighter and brighter. Jacobi quickly realized what was happening and was just able to get out of the way before a burst of flame left the lizard's maw.

"Not a friendly! Definitely not a friendly!" Jacobi grabbed his swords, but noticed another lizard coming out of the bushes from the opposite direction. This one seemed to have swapped colors, having a red back and blue underside. This one immediately shot forth a huge amount of water at Jacobi. He narrowly dodged to the side, then rolled as the fire-breather let loose another torrent. Jacobi could only dodge as the two tried flanking him in numerous ways, always going one after the other in a strangely systematic way.

With fires being set and put out repeatedly around the campsite, a giant smoke plume rose overhead. Jacobi could barely see in front of him, and tried to cover his eyes. This got him promptly shot in the face with water, and then knocked to his backside from the sheer force of it. He swung his sword wildly to his side, and hit something. He then attacked ferociously in that area, and saw the body of the water lizard hacked to pieces. Without something to put out the fires, the smoke became hazy and burned Jacobi's eyes. He rose to his feet and faced the fire lizard. _'While these guys have a great offensive strategy with each other, one alone will easily die.'_ He raised his swords and lunged forcefully at the little thing that had ruined his perfect campsite.

 **…**

Chelsea sat quietly at the breakfast table. She was the only member of Night Raid awake so far, except Susanoo, and she tried to enjoy her break from the constant antics. However, the small group had grown on her, and she just couldn't fully exploit her chance. Chelsea sighed and put her head on the table.

She sighed, but then the noise of someone walking drew her attention. She looked to see Leone walking to the table with a bowl in hand. Chelsea smiled and gave a slight wave.

In a quiet voice, Chelsea said, "Good morning Leone."

Leone returned the gesture. "Morning. What are you doing up so early? I don't know how any normal human being could possibly wake before eight am."

Chelsea gave a slight smile. "Well, you see, I never actually fell asleep. I was only able to doze off a few times, but by five I decided to just get up."

"Why couldn't you fall asleep?"

"I was thinking over some things."

"Oh, I see. You're still undecided as to whether joining Night Raid was a good decision?"

"No, if you recall I've been in an assassin group before. It's nothing new to me. I was just thinking about… someone."

Leone's ears immediately perked up, and she gave a wide smile. "Was it a boy?" she asked almost too cheerily.

Chelsea looked sharply at Leone. "Yes, a boy who has most unceremoniously taken over my thoughts. I can't stop thinking of him, but I only met him once. Is that normal?" Chelsea looked expectantly at Leone. _'While I may crack myself to be some romance expert, I've never actually been in a relationship before. Leone seems to be more experienced, so maybe she can give me the answers I need.'_

Leone laughed. "That depends on the guy, my dear Chelsea. Who is it?"

Chelsea blushed. "I… actually… don't know. I just met him on the streets, exchanged some words, and went my separate way."

Leone burst out laughing. She had tears in her eyes as she looked at Chelsea's confused face, and then just laughed harder.

"Hey, Leone, I fail to see how this is funny. I really want to know if this is normal."

Leone stifled her laughs, and then tried answering the question. "You see, Chelsea, usually you have to know a person to fall in love with them. It's not exactly common for some everyday kid to steal a woman's heart, but I guess it can happen."

"I still don't see how you found it so funny."

"Well, last night you seemed so intense and cold. It's hilarious seeing the soft side to a person, especially when it is revealed through their own naiveté towards love. And to think you called Tatsumi naïve!" Leone laughed yet again.

Chelsea's face blushed profusely. _'I only revealed that because of my tiredness. I have to make sure that it doesn't happen in the future.'_ She looked at Leone determinedly. "How do I fix this?"

Leone stopped laughing and looked at Chelsea. "Well, the only way to really fix what you're feeling is to replace it with another feeling equally as strong. Or, you could go looking for this 'mystery man'. I could help you if you want, but I'll need a description."

Chelsea felt grateful for Leone's help, but was scared to look for the so-called 'mystery man'. _'He wouldn't even recognize me, as I was a cat when I saw him. What if he doesn't like me? What if he's repulsed by the fact that I'm an assassin? What am I saying; he probably wouldn't know about me being an assassin. But what if he found out?'_

Leone relieved the poor woman of the countless thoughts invading her brain. "You know, we don't have to. Or, we could just wait a few days. Anyways, I'm sure he likes you! Who could resist such beautiful women as us?"

Chelsea laughed a little and reclined her seat a bit. She would have to time to sort her thoughts before doing anything crazy. _'I won't think about him at all today. I will relax, maybe train some, and focus more upon him tomorrow. With patience comes reward, so I just have to be patient.'_

Chelsea sighed and closed her eyes, but just then Susanoo walked in.

"Excuse me, but there is a large amount of smoke coming from one of the mountains. I believe it is necessary to see what the cause of such an event is."

Leone looked concerned. She turned to Chelsea. "They can't have already found us, could they?"

Chelsea thought for a second. "It is possible, but highly unlikely. We should check it out just in case."

Leone nodded. "Susanoo, Chelsea and I will take care of whatever this is. Tell Najenda where we went, but only when she wakes up. If we don't return around noon, then send reinforcements."

Susanoo nodded. "I will do as you say, but there is one thing you must know."

Leone and Chelsea looked at the man, surprised to see such a determined look on his face.

"Before you leave, you must make absolutely sure that you…" The two looked at him, almost frightened by what he was going to say. "PICK UP YOUR DISHES! You have left them on the table, and it is bothering me!" Leone sweat-dropped while Chelsea giggled, but they both set to doing their dishes. They finished quickly, and ran out the door.

 **…**

Jacobi dropped his swords in exhaustion. _'The darn thing used the smoke to call for help! I'm lucky I survived, those things were scary! I'll have to ask Najenda if they're native to the region or if they just have a special hatred of me.'_ Jacobi surveyed what was left of his now-pitiful living area. The clearing had expanded, and burnt grass and puddles of water littered the ground.

Jacobi walked to where he kept his water pouch, but found that the container had been long destroyed.

"No! You stupid lizards!" he shouted at the sky. He stopped mid-rant, as he finally realized the full extent of what the lizards had done. They had revealed his location to anyone paying even a little bit of attention, especially anyone in Night Raid.

 _'_ _Anything could show up, so I might as well hide. If it's another danger beast, then I can ambush it. If it's Night Raid, I can just hide. However, I need to move all my equipment even if it is burned up.'_ He went to work, moving the charred sheet and food/water containers inside of a large bush. Considering everything hidden, Jacobi climbed a tree and watched the clearing.

 **…**

Chelsea and Leone sped through the trees in the direction of the smoke. While most of it had disappeared, a small remnant hung in the air. After a few minutes of travel, Chelsea could finally spot the area in question. She motioned to Leone to stop.

"What?" Leone asked, obviously impatient to fight whatever came up.

"I'll scout the area and see if anyone is still there. I'll come get you if we need to fight."

Leone considered the proposal, and reluctantly motioned for Chelsea to go ahead. "Yeah, ok. But if I hear anything, then I'm busting in."

"Fair enough." Chelsea walked closer to the clearing, then pulled out her Gaea Foundation. She thought about which disguise would help the most in this situation, and then got a queer notion. With a thoughtful smile, she changed form.

 **…**

Jacobi watched the site intently, ready to spot anything moving. He almost missed it, but there was a slight rustling in the bushes beside the clearing. He readied his wrists, preparing to use his hidden blades, when a cat walked out. He froze. It was the same cat from days before, the same careless walk with even the red bow attached to it. _'How could that cat have followed me? It doesn't make sense. However, I need to keep that here. Animals can sense dangers, so the cat can help me detect anything coming.'_

Jacobi jumped down from the tree, and carefully approached the cat. The animal in question nearly jumped three feet when it saw him, but quickly calmed down upon seeing he was not a threat.

"Hey cat. I didn't think that I'd see you again, but here you are. What are you doing here?" The cat still seemed hesitant to approach him, but it slowly made its way to where he was standing. Jacobi sat down and started stroking the cat as soon as it got near him. He just sat there with the cat for a minute, contemplating how it could have found him. However, the cat seemed to bore of the activity and slowly walked around him in circles. It would pass into his sight, then out of it, then back into it in a continuous pattern.

Suddenly, Jacobi realized that the cat was no longer circling him. _'Where did it go?'_ He was about to get up and look for the cat, but he felt a needle being pressed firmly to his neck. Something about where it was placed made Jacobi feel uncomfortable.

A feminine voice sounded behind him. "If I were you, I wouldn't move."

Jacobi wisely stopped moving.

The voice spoke again. "Good, now stand up slowly." Jacobi did as he was told. The voice then yelled in the direction of the trees. "Leone! I caught the perpetrator!"

Jacobi's breath hitched. "Look, I can explain…"

"I know you can, but you will shut up right now or else I will paralyze you for life. Do you want that?"

Jacobi swallowed. "No."

"That's what I thought."

Just then Leone leaped into the clearing, hands balled into fists in a fighting stance. She took one look at Jacobi and snarled. "What are _you_ doing here? I thought you had personal problems to deal with."

Jacobi only motioned to Chelsea, then moved his fingers across his lips in a 'zipper' fashion.

Leone understood immediately. "Let him speak Chelsea."

The pressure decreased on Jacobi's neck. He then answered Leone's question. "Yes, but I was able to somewhat push them aside."

Leone just looked queerly at him. "Explain what you're doing here right now. Otherwise, Chelsea and I will dismember you in the most painful way possible."

 **…**

Chelsea's thoughts were swimming. _'Why did it have to be him? There are millions of others it could have been, and I could have easily killed them. But why him?'_ She had been extremely surprised to see him walk out of the bushes. He had obviously seen her first, and recognized her as the cat from previously. She had barely been able to contain her nervous shaking and play the part of the innocent animal. She felt so confused, and questions swirled in her mind. However, she realized that if he was so close to the Night Raid base, then he might have been sent to kill them all. No matter how cute a boy was, she would not allow her comrades to die again.

She formed a plan to render the boy harmless, then set it into motion. Now, she stood behind the boy with her needles at his neck. She decided to use non-poisonous needles, and focused on a pressure point connecting to the nervous system. As she had threatened earlier, she knew how to paralyze him in one prick. However, what she hadn't mentioned was that the boy would only be paralyzed for a few days.

Chelsea was startled by the intensity of Leone's voice, but she tried to also look tough. "I would start talking if I were you."

The boy sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"Let's start with your name."

"Fair enough, my name is-"

Chelsea had been unknowingly increasing the pressure on the boy as he spoke. While she was unaware, the boy felt the increase in pain and rolled out of Chelsea's grasp before she inadvertently hurt him. She gasped as she realized what had happened. However, before she could tell Leone what had actually happened, Leone started fighting the boy.

Leone had obviously mistaken the boy's actions for an attack, and immediately responded in kind. She activated her teigu, and lunged.

 **…**

Jacobi knew exactly how Leone would react to his actions, so he reached for his swords first. He met her lion paw with both of his swords, trying his best to not get hit. _'Just one hit from her, and I could very well be done for. However, her fury is going to dull her common sense. I can use that against her.'_

Jacobi started to try deflecting Leone's arms around them, trying to use her momentum to put her off-balance. As the fight wore on, she swung harder and harder at him, to the point she seemed to almost explode in anger. Jacobi could understand her frustration. While terrible against multiple targets, Jacobi could hold his own one-on-one. With only one opponent, Jacobi could focus more energy into how he was going to defeat his opponent, or at least get away from them.

 _'_ _If anyone else was helping her, then I would probably be dead by now. Wait wasn't there…'_ Jacobi's mind turned to the girl who had threatened to disable him. _'Where is she? Behind me, or-'_

Jacobi's distracted thoughts gave Leone just the opening she needed. The next moment, Jacobi was thrown to the ground. He slid a few feet, but stopped when he hit a tree. _'Crap…'_

 **...**

Leone looked triumphantly at her defeated opponent. She grinned evilly at him as she slowly stalked towards him.

"You chose wrong, my _friend_. Now, what was it I had promised? Oh, yes, a painful dismemberment!" Leone reached for the boy slowly, trying to savor the moment. _'He was good, too good for someone trying to kill us. He has to be disposed of.'_ Leone grabbed the boy, pulled him to his feet, then prepared to punch him again in his stomach. She almost threw it, when her arm was stopped.

It was Najenda. "What? What are you doing? This kid was sent to kill us."

Najenda merely shook her head, then addressed the boy. "I thought I told you to remain hidden for this very reason."

He could only sigh. "I was, but then these weird lizards attacked me. They used smoke as some form of communication, so when they saw me they made plenty of it. I tried to kill them before they revealed my position, but…" His voice trailed off.

Najenda could only shake her head. "I thought you were good at stealth."

"They caught me off guard. I'm not perfect you know."

Leone was finished with them acting like she wasn't even there. "What are you two talking about? Najenda, are you saying you ordered him to attack us?"

Najenda was appalled. "No! Of course not! He wasn't ordered to attack anyone, and I take it that all of this was a big misunderstanding."

The boy nodded. "The other girl was about to prick me with the needles, so to prevent that I rolled away. I knew you would take that as an offensive, so I defended myself."

Leone was taken aback. _'How does he know my reaction habits so well?'_ "How do I know you weren't just trying to escape?"

The boy visibly dead-panned. He was about to speak when Chelsea spoke. "He's telling the truth. I was distracted, and my hand was unconsciously applying more pressure. However, I'm surprised he reacted so quickly."

The boy looked at her startled. "How long have you been there?!"

Chelsea merely held up her Gaea Foundation. He seemed to recognize what it was, and blushed brightly.

Chelsea seemed to pay no attention to said boy's heated face. "Now, while I'm sure we'd all love to discuss things among ourselves, I just have to ask: who are you?"

The boy looked up at her, then sighed. "I already know your names, so it's only fair that you know mine. My name is Jacobi, and I've been helping Night Raid since the creation of the organization."

 **…**

Jacobi explained his predicament. "I've never felt comfortable in any group, so I decided it would be better to just help behind the scenes. I'm sorry if it caused any confusion or discomfort, especially in the current situation."

He looked slowly at the three women before him. Najenda just watched the other two's reaction with interest. Leone looked positively disappointed in not being able to kill her defeated opponent. Chelsea, however, gave Jacobi one curious look then seemed to lose interest. Her nonchalant looks around the devastated campsite gave Jacobi the feeling that she didn't really care much for him. A second look, however, revealed that her cheeks were slightly redder than they were earlier.

 _'_ _What's with her?'_ he thought. _'It's not like my fly's down or anything…'_ Suddenly very scared, Jacobi quickly checked his zipper. Fortunately, it was fine.

Najenda spoke up. "Ok, we need to get back to the house. Chelsea and Leone, I need you two to keep Jacobi a complete secret to the others. Not a word."

"Actually," Jacobi interrupted. "I'm following you back. I think it's time to know who's on what team."

"Are you sure?"

"There's a war coming, Najenda. If we're to win this, then we need to trust each other. So, no more secrets."

Najenda nodded, then started walking back to the house. Leone, then Chelsea followed behind her. However, before she left, Chelsea shot Jacobi a knowing look.

"Talking to yourself is fine, but wouldn't you rather talk to someone who can respond?"

Jacobi's jaw dropped. _'How did she know? Wait, she has Gaea Foundation, so… crap.'_ Jacobi sighed, picked up his swords, then followed the smirking woman in the direction of Night Raid.

 **…**

The Deceiver sat down at a large table in a dark room. The only sound heard was his fevered breathing. He looked at his target again. _'Soon, everything will come into place. I remembered where I know you from, and I can use that against you. Despite your efforts, you made friends. This will indeed be intriguing to watch.'_

A lone figure walked into the dark room. "You called for me?"

The Deceiver drew his attention from the television-like screen in front of him. "Yes, I did. I have a job for you."

The figure smiled.

 **…**

 **I put everything in the above A/N.**


	6. Part 1: Chapter 6

**I did not intend for the chapter to take this long, but I did rewrite everything multiple times in an attempt to get it right. If there are any questions, I would prefer a PM to a comment. If it's criticism or praise, however, I prefer those in comments.**

 **…**

Jacobi sighed as he sat down in the chair. _'That was awkward.'_ He thought as he slowly began to relax. Jacobi had just been 'introduced' to the members of Night Raid, even though he already knew them all. Jacobi thought back to the events in that meeting.

 **...**

 _Jacobi walked into the room filled with assassins. While he had arrived at the base a few minutes ago, Najenda had advised to stay in an adjacent room while she explained everything. While Jacobi had not been able to hear the specifics of the conversation, he could tell that the members were generally curious to meet him._

 _He then heard a knock on the door, which was his signal to come out. He opened the door to be met with various greetings._

 _Tatsumi looked at him with some interest, but apparently didn't see anything worth the fuss. Susanoo looked disdainfully at Jacobi's combat boots, which were obviously tracking mud into the house. Mine was a bit more welcoming, which was abnormal, as she lightly smiled at Jacobi. Lubbock was distracted with all of the women in the room, but it didn't take long before he turned his attention to the newcomer. His jaw dropped, and his eyes deadpanned. Akame just kept eating her fourth (or maybe fifth?) plate of meat. Her eyes flicked to Jacobi, then returned to her meal._

 _"Hello Jacobi." She said._

 _"Akame," he nodded in her direction, then took the seat designated for him._

 _Everybody seemed surprised at the familiarity between Akame and Jacobi. Najenda spoke up first._

 _"Akame, you already know Jacobi?"_

 _"Yes. We've met."_

 _Najenda seemed unsatisfied, but returned to the meeting at hand._

 _"Well, as Akame said, this is Jacobi. He's been helping Night Raid with most of the assassinations we couldn't have done because of risk or method. He's also helped with warning us before attacks, and also with our training regimen."_

 _Tatsumi looked back at Jacobi. "Method? How could he be better than us when it comes to method? What does he have that we don't?"_

 _"Nothing," Jacobi interrupted. "I just do things differently than you do. It's only my choices that set me apart."_

 _Satisfied, Tatsumi nodded._

 _Mine spoke up. "If you've been helping us all this time, then why are we just now learning about you?"_

 _Even Najenda was interested in this. All eyes in the room turned to Jacobi. "Personal choice. I work better without distraction, which is commonplace here."_

 _Lubbock still had his mouth open. "Why were you at the stadium?"_

 _"I was looking for a particular general. With all the publicity the tournament was getting, I thought there was a good chance he would be there."_

 _"Which general are you talking about? Esdeath?"_

 _"No, a different one. However, I was unable to disclose his identity, but he was relatively new."_

 _Chelsea looked up from the floor. "Can you describe him?"_

 _"Not really, but he had a pendant around his neck that shone really bright. The pendant is a teigu called Max Target."_

 _Chelsea nodded. "That general is called the Deceiver. My latest mission had me gather info on him, as nobody really knows who he is. Apparently, he did some great feat in battle. I wasn't able to get details."_

 _Jacobi was shocked. "During my mission, I had contact with someone who introduced himself as the Deceiver. I wasn't able to make any connections, however, because he kept to the shadows and wasn't wearing Max Target."_

 _"That would make sense, as people don't get nicknames for nothing."_

 _Jacobi nodded. He would ask Chelsea more about this Deceiver later._

 _Najenda decided to end the meeting. "Alright, if nobody else has questions for Jacobi, then we should get back to our training."_

 _Lubbock chimed in again. "Why does fate hate you?"_

 **…**

Jacobi laughed quietly. He had barely gotten out of that corner. His personal feelings weren't something he wanted to discuss in front of assassins.

He was still musing to himself when Akame walked past him. "Aren't you going to train?"

Jacobi looked up at her. "Yeah, sorry. Was just thinking."

Akame looked blankly at him. "You've changed. You used to be able to focus yourself upon a certain task without getting distracted, but now you seem to be thinking about everything."

"I guess I have more to think about now."

Akame looked closely at him, then started walking again. "Maybe."

Jacobi sighed as she walked away. _'Nothing gets past her. I might as well join her, if only to work on my fitness.'_

Jacobi pulled himself out of the chair, then walked to where Night Raid had made temporary training grounds. It wasn't much, but it worked. Tatsumi and Lubbock were having a push-up contest while Leone and Mine were making fun of them. Chelsea was sitting against a tree, quietly watching everybody else. Akame, however, stood in the middle of a field. She seemed to be waiting for someone, but nobody paid her any attention. As Jacobi watched, she suddenly launched into a complicated but beautiful series of sword slashes, blocks and parries.

Jacobi didn't even blink at the masterful display of swordsmanship. He just walked over to Tatsumi and Lubbock.

"While push-ups might be a test of strength, pull-ups more effectively separate the strong from the weak."

Tatsumi looked up at him. "Really? Then maybe we should have a pull-up contest Lubbock."

"Sure! Just don't whine when I beat you!" The two raced towards a nearby tree and found a low enough branch. Tatsumi went first.

"One… two… three… four… five…!" Tatsumi shouted out as he tried, but failed to continue going. "I can do hundreds of push-ups, so why can I only do fifteen pull-ups?"

"You're used to multiple points supporting your body. With this exercise, there are only your two arms. It takes practice to get used to the entire weight of your body on a few muscles."

Tatsumi thought for a moment, then turned to Lubbock. "Well, it's your turn."

Lubbock walked confidently to the branch. He jumped up and grabbed it, then tried pulling his body up… only to fail. He tried again and again, to be met with the same result.

Laughing could be heard from the girls watching.

"You can do just one, right?" Shouted Leone. "I mean, you were so confident earlier, but now you're struggling to do _one_. Tatsumi did _fifteen_."

Jacobi grinned as Lubbock continuously attempted the simple exercise. "Tatsumi, I think it's obvious that you've won. See what I mean by separating the strong from the weak?"

A vein on Lubbock's head bulged. "I DID NOT LOSE! YOU RIGGED THIS OR SOMETHING! I CALL CHEATING!"

"No, I didn't do anything. If you remember, you chose this tree out of twenty other suitable trees. If the tree is rigged somehow, the only one to blame is you."

Lubbock fell in a heap, too embarrassed to move.

"If you're so confident, then why don't you show us how many pull-ups you can do?" Jacobi turned to the source of the voice, seeing Akame standing by a tree. "You keep saying that they separate the 'strong from the weak'. How do we know that you're not just making up things?"

"Fine," Jacobi said in an even tone. "But my strength lies in other areas. They were competing in a contest of physical strength, so I gave them my knowledge on the subject. However, my expertise lies in battle tactics and strategy."

Akame was not deterred. "Then fight me."

Jacobi looked carefully at her. Then, he nodded and grabbed two wooden swords that resembled his own. They walked to the field and took their respective stances across from each other. Jacobi looked into Akame's eyes, trying to judge her first move. It was clear that Akame was doing the same.

Without warning, they both sprang at each other. Two of the swords met, One of Jacobi's swords and Akame's sword. Jacobi quickly followed through with his other arm, but it was swiftly knocked away by Akame. Jacobi continued to repeat the tactic, but he soon realized that Akame was more than aware of his dual-wielding strategies. _'So she hasn't forgotten.'_

He then tried attacking with both of his swords at once. Akame easily blocked and then returned with an overhead swing. He used his left arm to deflect, then gave a sideways swipe. Unexpectedly, Akame punched the inside of Jacobi's elbow. Flinching at the pain, Jacobi dropped his sword.

Stepping back, he looked closer at her. _'She would have never pulled a move like that before. What's different now?'_

He readied his remaining sword with both of his hands. Taking the bait, Akame ran to him and stabbed at him. He easily sidestepped and swung down. The sword fell to the ground, rendering Akame defenseless.

Relishing such an easy victory, Jacobi gave a half-hearted swing. Akame ducked under it, then wrestled the sword out of Jacobi's hands. She kicked his feet out from under him and put the sword to his throat.

"You're out of practice. It would be more profitable if you would train instead of thinking over meaningless things." She said as she then walked back to the house.

Tatsumi rushed over and helped Jacobi up. "What's with her? She's been acting weird ever since you came back. Also, she would have never used such under-handed tricks to defeat someone. Just what did you do to her?"

Jacobi laughed. "I don't think I did anything to her except annoy her with my incompetence."

Tatsumi gave a confused look. "I don't get it…"

"Akame is the one who trained me to be an assassin."

 **…**

Jacobi sat under a tree as the sun set. He watched as the sky turned from its original blue to shades of orange, red and pink. _'This really takes me back. How long has it been since I've done this? Months? Years?'_

The sound of someone approaching took Jacobi from his thoughts. He watched as Chelsea walked towards him and sat down next to him. She rested against the tree and stretched her legs.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Jacobi asked.

"Maybe, but aren't there better things to do? This happens daily, so you could always watch it tomorrow, or the day after."

"Yes, I could, but who knows whether there will be a tomorrow? Our life is full of uncertainties, so we shouldn't take anything for granted. Be it an easy kill, or a beautiful scene."

Chelsea looked at him thoughtfully. "Hm, I never thought of it like that. Still, doesn't it get boring after a while? It's always the same scene, the same sun, and the same sky."

"Not if you're observant. There are days that it may look similar, yes, but there is always something making it unique. Such as, the cloud formations, whether the wind is blowing, whether birds are flying. They all make a sunset unique from past and future ones."

She nodded, but was still unconvinced. "There are other ways to admire the scenery."

Jacobi looked quizzically at her. "If you're so dead-set on finding a new activity, then why did you come here?"

She smiled slightly. "The company."

Jacobi frowned. "How am I better company than anybody else? You just met me today, and that was at needle-point."

Chelsea laughed. "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings so bad, but that wasn't the first time we met. Or did you forget?" She turned into a cat, then lie belly-up.

Jacobi instantly remembered. "I don't always talk to non-responsive things, you know."

She turned back. "Of course, and I'm secretly a guy!"

Jacobi jumped up in surprise. "You're a guy?!"

Chelsea gave him a serious nod. She stared at him intently, then a slight grin appeared on her face. It broke into a full smile and she started laughing.

"You… actually thought… that I was a guy? You're so gullible!" she panted out between gasps.

Jacobi couldn't help being embarrassed. "So it was sarcasm. Great."

He sat down as Chelsea caught her breath. "You know, you're pretty fun to hang around. I can try all these different pranks I've been planning. How do you respond to hookers?"

Jacobi flushed, then shook his head furiously. "I'm not like that."

Chelsea just smiled. "So mister innocent, eh? Oh, I am going to have so much fun these next few days…"

Jacobi gave up. "You're impossible. How do any of the others put up with you?"

Chelsea put on an obviously fake pouty face. "Aw, so you don't like me?"

Jacobi just sighed. "No, that's not it. It's just that I'm unused to such… talks." Jacobi looked again at the sunset, which was nearing an end.

Chelsea looked at him with renewed interest. "When you were secretly helping Night Raid, did you have any human contact? Like, friends or something?"

Jacobi gave a quick shake of his head. "No. I kept all contact to a minimum."

"But why? There's no reason to."

"That I would like to keep to myself, if you don't mind."

Chelsea was disappointed. _'Now I really want to know what happened.'_

Jacobi quickly changed the subject. "What else can you tell me about this Deceiver?"

She thought for a moment. "Well, other than he's been an army veteran for many years now, I'm not sure. People seemed to be generally afraid of him, and just shut up after the basics."

"I already know that. I've run into him before. I was actually hoping you could tell me what Max Target does."

"I wasn't able to get that information, sorry."

Jacobi clenched his fists. "Darn. Are there any rumors as to what it can do? There has to be something."

"Well…"

"Well what?"

"There are some rumors that have been going around, but I wouldn't put much stock in them." She paused, then resumed. "Some people say that Max Target has the ability to grant wishes. But really, what kind of relic would do that? If it was true, then the general would obviously have made himself emperor or something…" her voice quieted as she looked at Jacobi. His eyes were blank, and he stared ahead without actually seeing anything.

Chelsea started speaking again. "You said before that you've run into the Deceiver before…" Her eyes widened. "What happened between you two?"

"He made a wish." He said simply. With that final statement, he pushed himself to his feet and walked towards the surrounding woods.

Chelsea just sat there. She had originally dismissed the rumors, but Jacobi's reaction made her think otherwise. _'Just what wish was made?'_

Determined to find out, Chelsea sprang up and ran in the direction that Jacobi had left.

 **…**

Jacobi walked aimlessly through the woods. He seemed to be heading somewhere, but he didn't know where. Scenes passed through his mind like an abstract movie. The scenes seemed to connect somehow, but before he could find out they would move on.

Jacobi stopped abruptly as he found himself in the middle of nowhere. He had no idea which way to go, so he just sat down. He tried breathing slowly to calm himself, and was able to somewhat control his emotions. _'It's been a decade. The effects could have alleviated, or wore off, or something.'_ Even through his thoughts Jacobi knew it wasn't true. The tug was still pulling at his heart. _'If I can just get Max Target, then I can reverse the wish. Then, after the effects alleviate, I can kill the Deceiver. He will pay for what he's done to me!'_

Jacobi stood up and looked at his surroundings. He realized he had been heading up the mountain he had previously camped on. Turning around, he slowly walked back to the house.

 **…**

Chelsea ran through the trees toward Jacobi. She wanted to shout for him, but she knew that there were danger beasts possibly lurking around every corner. She was becoming worried when she spotted a clearing not far off. _'He seems to like clearings, so he might be there.'_

She raced to it, but was suddenly grabbed and pulled behind a nearby tree.

"What-" she tried to say before a hand covered her mouth. She looked to see Jacobi signaling her to be silent, then pointed towards the clearing. She carefully looked, but didn't see anything. Suddenly, a figure strode out from the shadows.

The man was hooded and cloaked in brownish-black robes. He walked calmly through the clearing and exited on the opposite side.

Chelsea looked to Jacobi for an explanation. He sighed, then started whispering.

"Look, I'm sorry about running off like that. The talk we had had stirred some… unpleasant memories. I just needed a minute or two alone."

"Yeah, I get that, but what's up with the hooded guy?"

"I noticed someone dressed like him on my way back. There's a whole bunch of them spaced evenly, and they're converging on HQ."

Chelsea gasped. "Why didn't you run back to tell the others?"

"I was going to, but it's too late. This entire area is surrounded. Even without those hooded people, there's an army keeping a line. We have to find some other way of escaping."

"What about the others? They will be taken completely by surprise!"

"I overheard some of the soldiers talking. They were sent to capture or scare, not kill. Whoever's in charge doesn't want us to die, he wants us to relocate. He's probably also trying to scatter us."

"Why would they do that? It doesn't make sense."

"We're stronger when together. Remember Bulat and Sheele? What was similar between the two's deaths?"

Chelsea's eyes opened wide. "They were in individual groups."

Jacobi nodded. "It's obviously going to be a challenge to kill us when we're in a group. Too make it easier, they're going to hunt us down one by one."

Chelsea was astonished. "We can't just let the others fall into the trap. Isn't there some way we could help them?"

Jacobi looked thoughtful. "Maybe. How good are you with a sword?"

 **…**

Jacobi ran through the woods at a breakneck pace, with Chelsea close behind him. Jacobi wasn't sure whether it was too late, but Chelsea was right. They couldn't just sit back and let it happen. He looked back at the stumbling woman who was a bit off-balance. Since it was probably going to be an open fight, Jacobi had lent her one of his swords. While that would handicap both of them to an extent, it was better than nothing.

Jacobi looked back at Chelsea as he ran. She was falling back because of the weight of the sword, so Jacobi let up on his running. As she caught up, Jacobi noticed a bright line of orange over the trees. _'We're too late!'_ He thought as they came across the burning house. It was completely engulfed in flame, and the upper parts had fallen on the lower floor. It was a miracle that it hadn't completely collapsed yet.

Jacobi looked for any remaining people, but there was no one. The entire area was deserted. _'Wouldn't they stay to catch anyone who tries to come back?'_

Jacobi looked over the area again to see if he missed anything, but immediately realized his mistake. He tackled Chelsea in an effort to avoid an arrow flying towards them. They landed hard, and Jacobi tasted blood from biting his tongue. He got off of Chelsea and pulled her behind a tree. He listened as another arrow flew by.

"What… the… freak… was… that… for?" Chelsea gritted out.

Jacobi looked at her, and immediately realized he should have chosen a different way to help her. In Jacobi's life, he had rarely seen a woman mad, but it made an impression in his mind when he did see one. He had originally taken Chelsea for someone who was cool and collected, but that was all thrown out the window. Chelsea was glaring at him with a passion. Her face was redder than a tomato, and she had the sword clenched tightly in her hand.

Jacobi sweat dropped and backed away from the angry woman. "Can we please deal with this another time? I swear I'll apologize later, but…"

Chelsea smiled evilly at him. "Of course." She then grabbed her Gaea Foundation and started transforming into something. Jacobi looked around the tree to see about five people closing in on their location. They were all wearing hoods, and they all had a long sword at the ready.

He turned around to face Chelsea and almost spoke when he realized that she wasn't there anymore. Instead, a giant creature of some sort was staring down at him. His face started sweating, and he pointed at the approaching people. The creature then walked out from behind the cover.

The battle was over before it started. The creature was filled with such a rage that it cut all of them in half with one swing of its tail. The bodies dropped, and Chelsea reverted to her original form. She then started walking towards Jacobi.

"Don't you _ever_ tackle me again. Understand?" Jacobi nodded furiously. Chelsea looked at him furiously, but something was different. Chelsea just couldn't keep up the act and started laughing. "Wow, you really are easy to scare! But seriously, if you do that again, I will quarter you."

Jacobi was annoyed that she had played yet another prank on him. _'How is she able to play pranks at a time like this? And that glare, I was afraid she'd rip me apart.'_

Chelsea started walking away from the burning house. It was obvious that nothing of worth was left. Jacobi followed behind, suddenly very nervous to be around Chelsea.

 **…**

It wasn't as easy as they thought for them to sneak past the guards. They were on high alert after finding the bodies of the soldiers, and patrols were everywhere. Jacobi had to use every skill he knew to remain undetected, but Chelsea just disguised herself as a mouse. After leaving behind the last patrol, Jacobi started leading Chelsea in the direction of a nearby town.

Jacobi was weary as he walked, hoping for some form of a good night's rest. Chelsea, however, seemed just as cheery as usual.

"Do you ever get tired?" Jacobi asked.

Chelsea just smiled and shook her head as she replaced the lollipop in her mouth.

 _'I can't wait until she comes off of her sugar high.'_ He thought.

 **…**

It was at least three when Jacobi and Chelsea walked into the town inn. Chelsea had run out of lollipops, and it was obvious she was going to collapse soon. Jacobi tiredly handed money to the man at the desk, and took the key. He then carried Chelsea up the stairs and into their room. Jacobi dropped her on the bed, and put his stuff down. _'Funny, I thought I asked the innkeeper for two beds…'_ thought Jacobi as his exhaustion set in and he crumpled onto the bed. He fell into a deep sleep.

 **…**

 **Quarter- to divide into four equal or corresponding parts. (Just in case anybody was wondering…)**


	7. Part 1: Chapter 7

The Deceiver sat straight in his chair, looking over the reports from his guards. The mission had gone exactly as planned: with Night Raid scattering about the wilderness. The capture of two previously unknown agents, Esdeath's boy toy Tatsumi and the pink-haired sniper named Mine, was just an added bonus. The Deceiver smiled when he saw another report saying how two more members were being tracked down currently.

 _'It's going better than I ever expected. This is the so-called best of the Revolutionary Army? They are nothing more than commoners who found some interesting toys.'_ The Deceiver's thoughts turned to Jacobi. _'The boy has grown up. I was surprised: thought he would've committed suicide years ago. No matter. He will just suffer all the more.'_

A loud noise resonated around the room as large doors were opened behind the Deceiver.

"So your plan went as well as you said it would. Well done, now we can finally destroy those wretched fiends." The man speaking walked slowly, making heavy steps. The Deceiver waited patiently for the man to reach the table, and when he did, it revealed none other than Minister Honest. He was without food, for once, and held some documents that looked similar to the Deceiver's.

Honest looked down at the Deceiver, studied him for a second, then returned to his papers. "Usually paperwork is extremely boring, but I just can't stop reading this! Did you know that this is my fourth time going over the same information?"

The Deceiver gave a small grin. "No, Minister. I assure you I didn't."

Honest huffed. "Of course not, I just told you. Anyways, I came to see how we are progressing in capturing the others. I'm planning a mass execution, a massive display of power against our enemies! Just a straight line of beheadings: CHOP, CHOP, CHOP!" The Minister chuckled at his joke. "So, what do you think? Brilliant, eh?"

The Deceiver barely held his tongue about Honest's comment about 'their' work, but had an immediate response to the beheadings.

"Such an execution would be… memorable, but it would be nothing but a quick glimpse. What if we were to, say, draw out the executions? Make each beheading on a different day? That way it would sink in. Every time they got over one death, we'd hit them with another. Wouldn't that make a more lasting impact?"

The Minister's eyes gleamed. "Yes… yes! That would be _most_ painful. When do you suppose we should start? We don't as of yet have all the members."

The Deceiver smiled widely. "Just leave it to me. I will take care of our stragglers."

 **…**

Chelsea groaned as she rolled over. She could feel the sunlight against her eyelids, but she didn't want to get up. The bed was so warm and comfortable, and the arm she was latched onto was just so… Chelsea's eyes shot open. She looked at the arm she was holding onto. It was attached to a shoulder, which led to… Jacobi's face. Which was uncomfortably close to her face. _'Oh. My. God.'_

She jumped out of the bed, and grabbed the nearest thing. She swung it on the boy's face, effectively waking him up with a lamp.

Jacobi sat straight up while holding his face. "Ow! What the heck was that for?"

"You slept in the same bed as me! You couldn't have just taken the couch or something?"

Jacobi looked at her wearily. "First correction, I _collapsed_ onto the bed with you. Second correction, do you see a couch here?"

Chelsea looked around, and couldn't see any other furniture than the bed and the bedside table. However, she was still adamant. "Still! You could have taken the floor or something! Isn't that what you did before officially joining Night Raid?"

"What part of 'I collapsed' do you not understand? I can't just control where I fall!"

Chelsea just looked away. Jacobi saw and decided to at least attempt to civilize the argument.

"Look, I'm sorry. If I realized you had such strong feelings about it, then I would've gladly taken the floor. However, there's nothing we can do about it now."

Chelsea nodded. "Fine, I accept your apology. Just don't do it again."

"Fine by me." Jacobi then stretched out his arm. "Sheesh, I feel like my arm is on pins and needles."

Chelsea flushed, wondering why that was. "Anyways, I'm starving. Where's the food?"

Jacobi started to point downstairs, but then really looked at Chelsea. "Umm, you might want to wait."

"Why?" Jacobi pointed at her head.

Chelsea's blood froze. She looked at a mirror on the wall to see her hair was, well, everywhere. She turned to Jacobi, who was purposely looking everywhere but at her hair.

Before Jacobi could say anything, he was pushed outside into the hallway.

"Wait for me to finish." was all Chelsea said before closing the door.

Jacobi sighed, and leaned against the door. He looked around the hall to see a couple staring at him.

"Women?" One of them asked.

"Women." Jacobi confirmed. The couple laughed as they walked down the stairs towards breakfast.

Surprisingly, Chelsea only took thirty minutes on her hair. She opened the door to let Jacobi in, but he just looked at her. He sighed, then walked inside the room and grabbed his things.

"Are we going or not? I thought you were oh-so-hungry." Jacob remarked.

"Yeah, let's go." Chelsea looked inquisitively at Jacobi as he held the door open for her. They exited the room and locked the door before heading down to breakfast.

 **…**

Chelsea ate her food quietly. Jacobi, on the other hand, just picked at his food.

"Are you really that bent up over me kicking you out the room?"

Jacobi just shook his head. "No, I'm used to waiting long periods of time."

"Then why on earth are you so gloomy? News flash, days aren't supposed to be sad until something bad happens."

He only nodded in agreement. Chelsea was completely mystified by this behavior. He seemed almost bipolar: being happy, then sad, then emotionless and so on. Now, Chelsea was almost always able to figure someone out at first glance. However, Jacobi seemed to change with the time of day.

"Are you thinking about what happened in your past?"

Jacobi immediately turned his attention to her. "How did you-"

"I'm exceptionally good at judging people. While I've only known you for a day, the only time you zoned out before was after you mentioned that you met the Deceiver."

Jacobi looked away. "Oh. I didn't know I was that easy to read."

"If it makes you feel better, I don't usually take so long to come to conclusions. Take Tatsumi, for example: I read him like an open book as soon as I saw him. So, what part of your past were you thinking about?"

Jacobi seemed very uncomfortable. "Someone close to me. They put their faith in me, and, well, I didn't measure up when it counted."

"Did they die?"

"Yeah." It seemed that Jacobi wasn't going to volunteer any more information, so Chelsea remained silent. They stayed quiet until Chelsea had finished her food. They paid for the meal and left the inn, walking around the small place.

It wasn't very popular to live near monster infested areas, so there weren't many people walking around. There were virtually no guards in the town, and any that were there were drunkards. Deciding there wasn't any threat, Jacobi and Chelsea sat on a bench in the middle of the town center.

"What do we do now?" asked Chelsea.

"We need to reestablish contact with the others. If the Deceiver wants us separated, then sticking together should be our first priority."

"How do we know they aren't already captured?"

"We don't."

A chill ran up Chelsea's spine. There was a distinct possibility that she and Jacobi were the last free Night Raid members.

"So, how are we going to contact everyone else? I'm pretty sure that they aren't just going to be waiting to be found."

Jacobi thought for a moment. "First, we need to know who's still free. I met someone the other day. He lives in the capitol, and keeps a sharp eye on the palace. If any prisoners were brought there, I'm guessing he would know."

Chelsea was skeptical. "Guessing? That doesn't sound very reliable."

"What other choice do we have? I don't know any other way to safely get info."

"If you put it that way… fine. But if anything happens, I'm blaming you."

 **…**

Indra jumped from roof to roof, making sure he wouldn't be seen. He finally reached a large street lined with shops. The bright lights shone brilliantly in the night, effectively blinding anyone who happened to look. Many people walked around, though it was mostly guards looking for a bar to drink at.

Indra was impressed that the area kept its business. It was, after all, the final resting place of General Ogre. Apparently the people were fed up with ghost stories.

Indra climbed down the side of a building and blended into the crowd. Unfortunately, some wanted posters with Jacobi's and Indra's faces had started appearing around the capitol, so Indra had to be more careful than usual.

With his hood up, Indra walked around the random pedestrians. He wasn't there to socialize; some rumors had spread about two Night Raid members being captured. If he could find the guards that had imprisoned them, then he could eavesdrop on them until they mentioned the captures.

 _'If I can find out who got captured, then I'll know who to help if they try escaping.'_ Indra walked until he heard loud boasting from one of the bars.

"I knocked the girl to 'er knees, an then was about to knock 'er out. Then, outta nowhere came Esdeath's boy Tatsumi!" By this point Indra had walked inside the bar. He sat in a far table and listened to the rest of the boisterous man's story. "He fight like a madman, he does. Swinging 'is sword this way and that! Could'a lost me arm! But he isn't very smart, ya see. While he was swinging at my partner, I crept up behind 'im and knocked 'im out!" The rest of the guards around the man started laughing. "Then, the girl starts running! I chase her down, I did. A quick one, but nothing we couldn't handle. So's we tied 'em both up and hauled back to the palace. Got praises from the empr'r himself."

Indra was astounded that they were caught so quickly. _'I thought Night Raid was notorious for putting up a fight. Something's not right here.'_ Figuring that the drunken man would volunteer more information, Indra stayed for the night. However, the only thing he would talk about was the capture. He would recite it again every time a new person walked into the bar, be it guard or random citizen.

Early the next morning, Indra walked out of the bar. The street was now almost empty, most people still sleeping or having already left. Indra walked to a nearby building, climbed up, and ran in the direction of the palace.

 **…**

A single man watched as Indra disappeared into an alley. He sighed as he looked at the mass of guards fainted from over-drinking.

"I expected better from the emperor's finest. In any case, spies are not appreciated by the Deceiver. I will have to deal with him personally." The person then turned and walked into the bar. The imbecile who had just given the enemy information would be punished severely.

 **…**

Jacobi walked along the streets, sticking strictly to the side alleys. There weren't many posters left, but guards were still on alert for him. Chelsea was close behind, trying to keep up with Jacobi's quick pace. They traveled until they reached a line of buildings directly in front of the imperial palace.

"Is this where you met him?"

"Yeah, but I'm guessing he's not going to just wait around here. We'll have to search the surrounding area." They started walking parallel the palace walls, looking for the elusive character. However, the alley soon ended in a busy street.

"Is there a way around?" Chelsea asked.

"Not that I can see. We'll just have to keep our heads down."

Jacobi pulled up his hood and walked into the crowd, with Chelsea close behind. Nobody paid them any attention, as they looked like any other couple walking along.

A large man carrying some boxes was wobbling precariously down the street. Most people gave him a wide berth, but Jacobi didn't notice him. The man bumped into Jacobi, and the boxes went flying. They crashed: whatever contents inside them broken.

The man turned a ferocious glare on Jacobi.

"I'm sorry I-" Jacobi started, but a look of fear ran through the man's eyes.

"You're that guy who was on the wanted posters! The guy who escaped prison!" Jacobi froze. His cover was blown. "GUARDS! Guards I found a wanted man!"

"We have to go!" Chelsea said.

They started to run, but were quickly surrounded. Jacobi gave Chelsea his sword.

"I don't need it. You remember my abilities?"

"Yes, but there are innocent people here. We can't let them get hurt."

Chelsea nodded and drew the sword as Jacobi did the same. They stood back to back, waiting for an attack.

However, before the guards could make a move, a bolt flew into one of them. He crumpled, dead. More started to rain down upon the soldiers, hitting anything from their chests to their faces.

Jacobi saw his chance amid the confusion and grabbed Chelsea's hand. They started running, easily avoiding any guards still trying to capture them.

A hooded figure holding a crossbow dropped right in front of them.

"Jacobi! What the heck were you doing? If I didn't come along when I did, then you'd be in the Minister's hands. _Again._ "

Jacobi gave a half-grin. "Good seeing you too. We need to get out of here. Any ideas?"

"Yeah, I have a hideout not far from here. Let's go." He started to climb up the side of the building with Jacobi and Chelsea close behind. Meanwhile, the other people on the rooftops continued to shoot at the soldiers. "Anyways, where'd you pick up the hottie?"

Chelsea huffed. "I'm right here, you know."

"Oh, forgot to introduce myself. Name's Indra." Indra replied as he reached the top of the building.

"Chelsea."

"Ok, so Jacobi. Where'd you pick up _Chelsea_?"

Jacobi thought for a second. "It's a long story."

"Wow, so cliché. I didn't take you for that kind of person."

"Yeah, shut up. Let's just get to this 'hideout' of yours."

The place was an abandoned top floor of one of the buildings. It was sparsely, but comfortably furnished with a bed, table and couch.

"How do you like it? This is one of many, but I prefer this one the best."

Chelsea looked around. "What makes this one special?"

"The other ones don't have a couch." Indra said as he jumped onto said couch. "So, Jacobi, I think you have some explaining to do." He said as he gestured to Chelsea.

"Ok, I got caught up in some lizards, met her, joined Night Raid, Night Raid got attacked, and we escaped. Now we're trying to get back into contact with everyone else."

Indra whistled. "And this all happened since you escaped the palace?" Jacobi nodded. "Well, it's a lot to take in, but it explains the guards."

Chelsea spoke up. "What do you mean?"

"You didn't notice? Those guards you faced are way more skilled than the ordinaries. They've been crawling all over the place. My team and I have had quite a few encounters with them."

"Since when did you have a team?" Jacobi asked.

"They've actually been helping me for a while now. I was just on personal time when I ran across you."

Chelsea sat on the bed and faced Indra. "Anyways, aside from skill, what makes these guards different? You made it sound like there was more to them."

"Well, it's kind of weird. Did you see their faces?"

Jacobi and Chelsea shook their heads. "They had masks on, so no."

"Well, I killed a couple of them yesterday. Was curious, you know, since they keep it covered."

"What did you find?" Jacobi asked.

Indra looked back and forth between them. "They are all the same. Every one of their faces is identical, down to red eyes, pale skin and a scar on their upper lip. I killed a few more just to be sure, and didn't find anything different."

Realization dawned on Jacobi. "So, you think that…"

"Yep. The emperor found a teigu user who can duplicate himself. I think he's expecting some sort of attack."

Jacobi sighed. "Is there anything else you've learned?"

Indra nodded. "Two of your members were captured in the raid on your base. I think one of them was named Tatsumi, and the other one was described as being short, with pink hair."

"So it was Tatsumi and Mine who were captured. Do you have any plan to help them escape?"

"Except waiting for them to come to me, no. You can't get in there without guards being all over you."

A loud announcement from outside a window startled the three. They looked outside to see a man on a pedestal facing a large crowd. "These words are directly from the emperor, so listen up!"

Nobody spoke a word. Satisfied, the speaker continued. "As of tomorrow, the four captured members of Night Raid will be executed at One PM exactly! Anyone wishing to see the traitors' deaths is welcome! That is all." The speaker walked away, surrounded by guards.

Jacobi heard Indra inhale sharply. "What is it?"

"Look at that man! He looks exactly like the guards." Jacobi looked, and saw that a man had the same description Indra had said, but something was different.

"Didn't you say he had red eyes?"

"Yeah…"

"This guy has blue eyes."

Indra looked again. "You're right… but why would a clone be different from the others?"

"Not sure." Indra stepped away, but Jacobi was still thinking on why this person was different.

The man seemed to be looking in the direction the speaker had left, but then he looked directly at Jacobi. He grinned, then walked away.

Jacobi stumbled back from the window. "We have to get out of here."

Indra was already lounging on the couch again. "What? We just got here!"

"Yeah. Besides, we've been moving almost nonstop. I'd like some rest." Chelsea added.

"The clone saw me. Others could be coming for us right now."

Indra swore under his breath. "Really Jacobi? Not even here for an hour and you blow our position. Which direction did he go?" Jacobi pointed. "Ok, the barracks are in the other direction, so it's possible he didn't make the connection. In any case, there's another one of my safe houses that's not far from here." He glared at Jacobi. "Hopefully you won't reveal that one's location as well…"

Jacobi opened his mouth, but then closed it. "Look, I'm sorry I ruined your base's location, but we need to go."

Indra looked at one of the walls. "Fine. I'll grab anything that we might need." He then proceeded to walk to his bed, crouch down, and pull a large box out. He opened it with a key and sifted through the contents. "We'll need this… and this…" he said as he continued.

Jacobi started pacing the room.

"Why are you so worked up?" Chelsea asked. "It's not like they're right outside."

Jacobi stopped and leaned against the wall. "That's not it. I'm thinking about those executions. We need to do something about it."

"There will be thousands of people there. We won't stand a chance."

"So you're saying we shouldn't try?"

"Maybe we should leave this to the people who actually know what they're doing."

"Like who? We're _assassins_ Chelsea. Nobody's going to save them out of the 'kindness of their heart'."

"What about Najenda, Akame and the others? I'm sure they'll be there."

"What if they didn't hear about it? We have no idea if they're even in the capitol, let alone in the country. In the confusion they could have fled."

"That doesn't sound like Night Raid."

"It's still a distinct possibility."

Indra got in-between the two. "Look, it's cute that you're having an argument with each other, but we have to go. I got all of the things we need."

Jacobi looked at the bag Indra was carrying, which looked to be at least a couple of pounds. He then looked to the box, which was just about empty. "What did you get? I didn't exactly see what was in the box."

Indra gave an impish smile. "That's exactly as it should be. Don't worry, I'll show you later."

Jacobi followed Indra out into the sun and climbed to the top of the building. He gave a quick sweep of the area and continued on, wondering how he was going to get himself out of this one.

 **…**

Jacobi looked at the poster he had taken. On their way to the other hideout, Chelsea had noticed some people hanging flyers. They grabbed one, and found that it was more advertising for the execution.

"It's almost like they're high on themselves." Indra commented.

"Well, they have been a pain in the butt for years now. They want to show their 'infallible' power." Chelsea said.

"Still, this seems almost too obvious. It's like they're inviting us to try something."

"Trap or not, we need to at least make an attempt at rescuing Tatsumi, Mine and whoever else got caught." Jacobi said. "Indra, you know the area best. Does the stadium have any secret entrances we can use to enter unseen?"

"There are a few, actually: one leading from each cardinal direction. However, we'll want to take the west entrance."

"There a reason?"

"Well, the execution's going to take place at one. The sun will be leaning toward the west, and we want to be facing away from the sun. Decreases risk."

"What about the guard positioning?"

"They won't be a problem, as long as we can get in and out as fast as possible."

Jacobi nodded. "Good. Now, here's what we're going to do…"

 **…**

 **As always, tell me what you guys think! There's been a serious decline in feedback lately, and I think it may have something to do with school starting back up, but I really need you guys to tell me what I'm doing right or wrong. I'm positive that my writing isn't perfect, so I need you guys to point out what's lacking. Anyways, C ya!**


	8. Part 1: Chapter 8

**Hello again, and Merry Christmas! I know it's been a long time, but there are still 100 to 200 people reading my story daily. That's crazy! I sincerely thank each and every one of you that have continued to stick with me, and to all who are just now joining me: welcome! I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter, and don't forget to review! Man, it's good to be back!**

Jacobi looked out at the crowded stadium. He was surprised that so many people were willing to witness an execution. _'The only difference between this execution and the others that happen every day is that this one has enemies of the empire. Why would so many people_ want _to see this?'_ Of course, they could just want to see the people who inspired fear in the most powerful country in the world.

Jacobi refocused on the task at hand. The arena was a flat expanse of sand, with a wooden platform in the center. According to Indra's sources, the four Night Raid members would be raised into the stadium from an underground section labeled "The Catacombs". There were too many guards within the catacombs for Jacobi and Indra to sneak in undetected, so Chelsea was put to the task. If nothing bad had happened, then she should already have infiltrated the guards. Otherwise… well, Jacobi just wouldn't think about that.

Jacobi spared a quick glance at the other side of the stadium. They had taken Indra's advice and taken more Westward seats. However, Jacobi and Indra had still separated as far as possible to remove the possibility of them being recognized together. There was still a chance one of them could get caught, but at least one of them would be able to do their part.

Anticipating no small amount of fighting ahead, Jacobi took what rest he could get and started to doze off.

…

The Deceiver sat down at his table. Everything was in place: the starting whistle just had to be blown. He looked up as the Minister slowly approached.

The Minister cleared his throat and looked expectantly at the Deceiver. "I believe it is close to one o'clock, general."

"So it is." The Deceiver responded.

"I am trusting that you will deliver on your promise. Are you sure this will work?"

"Very much so. Everything so far has happened exactly as I predicted: why would you expect this to be any different?"

The Minister laughed. "Don't misunderstand my position. You have been highly useful up until now, enough that you rival Esdeath. However, the future is extremely tricky. It's always changing, always yielding random results. I just hope that your luck holds out."

The Deceiver gave a grim smile. "We'll see. Let's get started, shall we?"

…

Jacobi awoke to a loud groaning coming from the center of the stadium. A hole had appeared, and a platform was slowly rising into view. The groaning must have been the gears turning.

Realizing that he was expected to be ready, Jacobi stretched his limbs and focused on the platform. As it came level with the stadium floor, more details were visible. The four Night Raid members were kneeling and in stocks, with bags over their heads. An executioner stood at the ready, with two guards flanking him. The crowd silenced, watching the display of power before them with a mixture of fear and interest.

A man near Jacobi stood up and began walking out of the stadium. "This is just another execution. I don't see what the fuss is about."

Jacobi, however, was on the edge of his seat. He might become suspicious if he showed too much interest, but the lives of four important people depended on whether Chelsea had done what she needed to do. Deciding that there was nothing else he could do, Jacobi looked to see who the other captured members of Night Raid were.

Tatsumi was first in the line, then Mine, next Leone, and lastly Lubbock. _'So those two were caught as well. It doesn't change anything, the plan should still work.'_

Jacobi refocused on the executioner, who seemed to be checking the sharpness of his axe. Satisfied, he walked up to Tatsumi and raised the axe above his head. Jacobi willed the axe to stop, knowing that what happened next was completely out of his control.

The axe sliced through the air, moving quickly towards its target. A sickening sound was heard, and a head rolled. The audience gasped, completely surprised by this change of events. At the last second, the executioner changed the axe's course from Tatsumi to one of the guards. It was an instant kill.

Some people started screaming, while others started running towards the exits. Others followed, and soon the audience was just a herd of people trying to leave. Through the crowd, Jacobi saw some guards making their way towards the center, where the executioner was cutting the bonds on the remaining prisoners. Jacobi moved to intercept the guards.

Right before they could jump to the stadium floor, Jacobi stepped in front of them.

"Get out of the way, citizen." One of the guards said. Jacobi just flicked out his blades. Before any of the guards had time to react, Jacobi had jumped into action. He disposed of them quickly, but more were on the way.

Jacobi jumped down and raced to the center of the arena, where all of the Night Raid members had been freed.

"Chelsea!" Jacobi yelled towards the executioner, "We have to get out of here!"

Chelsea deactivated her disguise and gave a cheeky grin. "I didn't worry you too much, did I?"

Jacobi nearly lost it. "Escape now, jokes later! Let's go! Where's Indra?"

"Right here." A husky voice said.

Turning, Jacobi faced the clone with the blue eyes. In his arms, with a sword pointed at his throat, was Indra. More of the clone guards surrounded the group, blocking Jacobi from any escape he had planned earlier.

"I must say that I'm impressed. I expected some last minute dive in, but you completely infiltrated the guards. Although, a teigu user is an unfair advantage if you ask me." The clone said.

Jacobi huffed. "Speak for yourself. You either have two hundred twins, or you can copy yourself."

The clone laughed. "Now that _is_ surprising. I never thought someone would have caught on to that."

"Then you're way more conceited than you should be." Jacobi said.

The clone's face turned red. "As sharp as your tongue is, it can't get you out of this predicament. You are surrounded."

Jacobi turned to Chelsea. "Did you find their weapons?" he asked, nodding towards Tatsumi, Mine and the others.

Chelsea shook her head. "They were confiscated by the Emperor beforehand."

Jacobi looked to Leone. "Get the others out of here. Chelsea and I will keep them occupied."

She nodded. "You two sure you can handle them?"

Chelsea was already turning into some dragon-like monster. Jacobi drew his two swords. "We'll see." Jacobi then turned to the clone. "You're now facing the best of a highly trained assassin group! Do you really think you can kill us with a few men?!"

The clone merely shook his head. "The Deceiver prefers his prey alive, as death is too easy a punishment." The clone used the pommel of his sword to knock out Indra, then threw him behind one of the guards. He then grinned evilly. "I'm going to enjoy watching you get tortured; enjoy your last free fight while it lasts."

…

Chelsea finished her transformation just in time. Most of the guards had decided to dispose of the harder target first, and went after the dragon. Chelsea could barely move without some spear or sword swinging towards her.

Jacobi was left with the clone and a few other guards. The guards were easy for him, but the clone would stand back watching until Jacobi would almost kill a guard, then take advantage of whatever opening there was. Chelsea could see the blood beginning to run in rivulets down Jacobi's legs and arms.

Chelsea herself wasn't faring too well. Cuts were adding up on her new scales, and the first drop of blood had fallen. More guards started to flood into the stadium, some armed with nets. If the fight went on any longer, Chelsea and Jacobi would surely lose. The only bright side was that she couldn't see Leone or the others, which could mean that they escaped.

Chelsea returned her attention to the two guards rushing her from the left. She swiped her claws at them, then breathed fire at one approaching from the front. She followed up with a roar in the direction of two she thought were going to attack, but they just stood frozen. Some marks crawled along their skin, and they fell forward. Standing behind them was a girl holding a long katana.

…

Jacobi could not hold out much longer. The darn clone kept interjecting at the exact time Jacobi would be delivering a death blow. If it wasn't for him, the other two guards would have been long dead. They might have still been dead if the clone would just get off his high horse and decide whether he wanted to be in the fight or not.

Jacobi narrowly dodged a sword aimed at his throat, and retaliated with a downward cut to the wrist, cutting off the guard's hand. Instead of following instincts and lunging for the throat, Jacobi moved to block anything the clone or other guard might attack with. The guard who lost his hand saw an advantage and tackled Jacobi. While it was unexpected, Jacobi was able to roll out of the way before being knocked to the ground. He came up… right in the path of the clone's sword.

Jacobi dropped his swords as a huge cut appeared on his back. He fell to his knees, stunned from the pain. He barely noticed the clone gloating over him. The clone said something, probably some witty one-liner, then swung his sword at Jacobi's head. Jacobi closed his eyes, accepting his fate. But the blow never landed. Jacobi looked up to see a _very_ familiar katana blocking the clone's sword.

"Akame…" was the only word Jacobi could say before falling on his face. He knew he probably shouldn't be resting at a time like this, but sleep was just so _alluring_ …

…

Chelsea watched as Akame killed the rest of the guards surrounding her, before quickly moving to intercept the ones around Jacobi. Chelsea had been too absorbed in her current situation to realize Jacobi's, and she was disturbed to see Jacobi on his knees in front of the clone. Both of his swords were on the ground, and a bloody gash was on his back. The clone looked on gleefully at the situation.

"That was one of the best fights I've had in a while… it's almost a shame that it ended. I know that I said I wanted to torture you, but…" The clone lifted his sword. "Nothing beats the feeling of killing a worthy opponent." He swung down; aiming for Jacobi's neck, but Akame intercepted it with her Murasame. The clone was surprised, and looked back to his guards, but they were slumped in two piles.

Gritting his teeth, the clone stepped away. "You only saved your friend some time." As he talked, more guards reached the bottom of the stadium. They started running towards Akame and Chelsea.

Akame looked to Chelsea, then pointed to Indra. "Is he with us?" Chelsea nodded. "Then carry him. I'll get Jacobi."

Chelsea nodded again and picked up Indra. Akame started running with Jacobi, and Chelsea followed. The guards immediately started pursuit.

Chelsea supposed that Akame knew what she was doing, but something just wouldn't add up. "Umm, Akame?"

"Yes?" she responded curtly.

"How are we supposed to get away? We might get out of here, but we won't escape the Capital like this!"

Akame looked blankly at Chelsea. "Who said anything about escaping the Capital?" The two got to the entrance of the stadium and turned down a street. Many pedestrians were alarmed at the sight of bloody people running away from an army of guards, but they wisely decided against any interaction. It was an open road for Akame and Chelsea as they ran.

…

A beautiful woman sat at an outside table for a café. She enjoyed watching the plebeians scurry around doing things that they thought was important. It was amusing to watch, at least. She took a sip from her coffee, then returned to watching a young man she had seen. He had a nice face and body, with minimal scars and some muscle. However, he was surrounded by two other women and a friend. It was obvious that he wasn't looking for a female companion. So, as she had done many times, she kept looking.

As she watched the streets, a large number of people started looking in the direction of the stadium. Of course the execution was earlier, but the woman thought that people would still be doing their jobs. She stood up, and was about to ask what the commotion was about, when something down the street caught her eye. It was two women, running. The woman almost immediately lost interest, but a second look kept her standing. The two women were carrying… a couple of boys. One had a huge bruise on his forehead, and the other was bleeding heavily. They were both knocked out.

The scene was such a bizarre change from the "damsel in distress" cliché that the woman almost laughed aloud. The boys were obviously something else. The woman looked on the faces of the two as they passed by. The first wasn't special: he was just a city boy with messy brown hair. The other, however, was more rewarding. He had the same brown hair as the other, but as he passed by, his eyes opened a little and looked to the woman who was holding him.

The woman watching from the café zeroed in on his eyes. They were grey, which was unusual in and of itself, but they seemed so _caring_. It quickly disappeared, however, as if the boy was trying to keep himself from doing something wrong. It was official: the woman was intrigued. As the two running women passed out of view, the woman paid her bill and stood up. She looked in the direction the people had gone, then headed to the palace. She would find out about the boy one way or another.

…

Chelsea barely kept up with Akame as they raced through the streets. Many people seemed startled at the sight of the two women running, but no one moved to stop them. Risking a look back, Chelsea verified that there were no signs of pursuit. She looked again towards Akame, who seemed to be slowing down. They turned into an alley, and then walked through an open door.

The building they were in was empty of furniture, but it was split into multiple rooms. They had entered into what used to be a kitchen.

"Why are we here?" Chelsea asked.

Akame looked around, probably looking for signs of inhabitation. "This is where Najenda told me to wait. This house has been abandoned for years, and we agreed on meeting here should something happen."

Chelsea nodded, then reaffirmed her grip on Indra. "Where can we set these two down?"

Akame motioned towards a corner. Chelsea walked over, then set Indra down. She looked to see Akame do the same with Jacobi, but with a gentleness Chelsea hadn't seen previously from her. A pang of jealousy went through her, but she shook it off.

Chelsea looked at the blood still flowing from Jacobi's wounds. "Jacobi's still bleeding."

Akame just continued looking around the house. "I'll grab something to cover his wounds. Try applying pressure to his back."

Chelsea kneeled next to Jacobi and carefully flipped him onto his back. She tried to see just how bad it was, but the jacket he wore got in the way. She removed the jacket, trying to move Jacobi as little as possible in the process. Chelsea almost threw the jacket to the side, but stopped. She had never seen Jacobi take off the jacket. Sure, she had only known him a few days, but there was something about how he treated it. Deciding against tossing it, she laid it out on the floor.

Returning to the task at hand, Chelsea peeled off Jacobi's shirt. Being able to see the unobstructed gash caused Chelsea to gasp. It was still bleeding freely, and the area around the cut was a sickly green. The exposed muscles seemed to be steaming.

"Akame! Get over here!"

Akame raced to Chelsea and quickly took in the situation. "That man's blade was poisoned. Get water."

Chelsea looked at the cut, the back at Akame. "I don't think just water's going to cut it…"

Akame nodded. "Not with the poison, but we have to remove any possibility of infection. Otherwise, he won't have any chance for survival."

Chelsea then grabbed the water container off of Indra, and gave it to Akame. Akame then dripped a little of the water on the cut, causing more steam to rise. Chelsea watched nervously as Akame continued to apply water. After a minute, the water ran out. Akame tossed the container aside and inspected the wound again.

"The poison's going to need treatment, but at least it's clean now. The bleeding has also reduced significantly." Akame reported.

Chelsea looked worriedly to Akame. "How do we get rid of the poison?"

Akame shook her head. " _We_ can't do anything about the poison right now. It's a hemotoxin concentrate from a danger beast's venom."

Chelsea looked at Akame quizzically. "Hemotoxin?"

Akame continued to look over the wound. "A poison that targets a person's blood. This one, however, has been concentrated to the point that it should be considered an acid. Anything it touches will start deteriorating."

"If you know what this is, then how do we cure it?" Chelsea asked.

"In the times that I encountered this, I never was able to find a cure in time to save the person." Said Akame.

"Who gave me this killer headache?" Indra asked as he sat up slowly. He rubbed his eyes, then looked at Akame and Chelsea. His eyes widened as he finally looked to Jacobi. "Holy crap! What happened to him?!"

"He was cut with a poisoned sword." Akame said calmly.

"Cut?! That's the greatest understatement I've ever heard!" Indra looked over the wound. "Was this from one slash?"

Chelsea nodded. "Do you have any skills with curing poisons?"

Indra glanced towards Chelsea. "That depends. I occasionally poison my crossbow bolts, but I only use ones that are extremely hard to cure." Indra's face paled. "Actually, you might be better off if I _don't_ know how to cure him."

Jacobi groaned, then tried rolling over.

"Woah, buddy." Indra said while holding him on his stomach. "We need to see your back if you're to live through this. Akame, what kind of poison do you think it is?"

"It reacts very similarly to a hemotoxin made from the venom of a jaculus."

Indra froze. "Excuse me?"

Akame didn't even flinch. "Excuse what?"

Indra took a deep breath. "A hemotoxin made from… _what?_ "

"A jaculus."

Indra cursed.

Chelsea looked strangely at Indra. "Jaculi are just tiny snakes. What are you so worried about?"

Indra stood and started pacing. "The jaculi themselves aren't the problem. It's the fact we have to make a cure for a poison made from their venom. Jaculus poisoning can only be cured from a mixture of one drop of jaculus venom and the blood of a Mother Jaculus. Have you _seen_ a Mother Jaculus?! They're scary as hell! The weakest ones are still fifty feet long, have wings, and fangs that could probably break a teigu. The only good thing about them is that they leave the venom to the younger generation."

"Well, how much time do we have?" Chelsea asked.

Indra sat down. "Probably until midnight, but it all depends on how strong the poison is."

"This poison seems to have at least doubled the lethality of the regular venom. It is literally eating at the surrounding muscles." Akame pointed out.

Indra groaned. "Ugh… make that sunset. In any case, how are we going to get out of the city, find a Mother Jaculus, kill it, kill one of its underlings, extract the blood and venom, make a cure, and administer it to Jacobi before sunset?"

Chelsea looked around at her gathered companions. Even the stoic Akame had a worried look on her face.

Indra gulped. "Um… guys? That wasn't rhetorical."

 **So what'd you guys think? I'm trying to make more time for my writing, and any support you guys could give me would really encourage me! Have a good one! :)**


	9. Part 1: Chapter 9

**Alright, I've been on hiatus for a while because of school, family, and a new pet. Quite a lot of things have happened this year, so I never really had time to pick up my laptop until recently. Hope you guys enjoy this, despite it being five to six months late.**

 **…**

The Deceiver walked along the palace walkways. Minister Honest was most displeased with the way the execution turned out, and the Deceiver was threatened with his own execution. The Deceiver merely countered with the threat that he would join the Revolutionary Army. Needless to say, the good Minister wouldn't be making any more threats.

The Deceiver smiled as he saw a garden filled with pale blue flowers. If he remembered correctly, that specific species was a popular torture item as it caused extreme pain on contact with a wound. He reached down and picked up a smaller one. After looking it over closely, he carefully put it in his pocket. One never knows what might come in handy later.

The Deceiver looked up as he heard footsteps approaching him. He immediately recognized the beautiful form of General Esdeath, with her blue hair and white uniform. She finally reached him and spat in front of him.

"You incompetent fool!" She shouted. "If it weren't for your idiotic plan, then we would've had four less members of Night Raid to worry about! Explain yourself before I remove your head!"

The Deceiver simply stood unperturbed. He sighed as he continued to look over the garden. "And a good evening to you too General Esdeath. I see you're as presumptuous as ever."

Fumes started to rise from Esdeath's head. "I demanded an explanation."

The Deceiver nodded. "Of course. That's only natural for one such as you." He then looked Esdeath in the eye. "But before that, think to what we have gained possession of."

"The Teigu owned by those four we captured." She responded quickly.

"Yes. Now we have essentially crippled most of Night Raid. Even if they're alive, they won't be so for long if we find their current position and send your Jaegers against them. If I'm correct, then there should be only three or four Imperial Arms wielders left among them. The rest won't stand a chance against your power." The Deceiver said with a hint of flattery in his voice.

Esdeath thought to herself then nodded. "And I can then focus entirely on finding Tatsumi."

The Deceiver smirked. Of course he wouldn't let her know about Tatsumi's involvement with Night Raid. "Precisely. Everything can be dealt with quickly and effectively."

Esdeath smiled to herself. "Yes… however, I did hear about a special order you gave to the guards at the execution. Something about leaving the gray-eyed one to that man you've been using for missions lately. Why would it matter who killed him?"

"A simple wager. If I collect, then I'll let you know what it was."

"Well, until then, I have to get back to cleaning the mess you made." Esdeath responded, then started to leave.

"If you would please listen, I have one more request of you." The Deceiver said.

Esdeath stopped, but didn't turn around. "I'm listening."

"I would like to strike Night Raid as soon as I learn their location. If you're willing, then I would like two or three of your Jaegers ready and at my command."

Esdeath chuckled, then continued walking. "We'll see, General." The Deceiver grinned. She wouldn't dare pass up such an opportunity.

While The Deceiver continued looking out over the garden, a soldier walked up behind him. "Excuse me, sir, but she's ready for feeding."

The Deceiver looked at his subordinate. "Of course. Go grab one of the finest steaks from the royal kitchen, and bring it back here."

The soldier moved to follow orders, but then looked curiously at The Deceiver.

"Is there a problem, soldier?"

"No sir, it's just… _one_ steak? That can't be nearly enough for her." The soldier hesitantly responded.

The Deceiver didn't even blink. "No, it won't be. I'm just giving her a taste of what's to come."

"Yes sir." The soldier responded as he then left to fetch the steak.

' _I'm going to need her hungry for later if my wager pays off.'_ The Deceiver thought.

 **…**

Najenda walked from alley to alley with Tatsumi, Leone, Mine and Lubbock in tow. After a ways, she finally found what she was looking for. As inconspicuously as possible, Najenda listened through an open window. Deeming the situation safe, she walked into the building where Akame, Chelsea and Jacobi were hiding.

"Akame, Chelsea," she greeted them as she saw them.

Akame rose from her crouching position when she saw Najenda walk through the door. "Boss, glad to see that you found everyone."

Chelsea also rose from her position.

Najenda nodded to them, but was confused when she saw another person among them. "Who is this?"

Indra rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm Indra, a friend of Jacobi's. I helped rescue the captured Night Raid members. Pleasure to meet you Miss…?" he said as he extended his hand.

Najenda took his hand and shook it. "Najenda. I appreciate your efforts in saving my co-workers."

As Najenda and Indra were talking, Leone was looking around the room. "Speaking of Jacobi, where is he?" Leone asked.

Indra's face darkened. He then gestured to where he was previously kneeling. Jacobi lay on his back, his wound available to all eyes who dared look on it.

Mine stifled a gasp when she saw it. "What happened to him?" She asked.

Akame sighed. "He was cut by a poisoned sword. The cut itself is bad enough, but the poisoning makes his chances for survival much lower."

Najenda then looked over it. "Jaculus venom?"

Indra nodded. "That's the conclusion we came to, but we can't easily obtain such a cure."

Najenda sighed. "We may be in luck. I think I know where we can encounter such a beast."

Chelsea's eyes brightened. "Better spit it out then. We need to go ASAP."

"Naturally. Now, as soon as Jacobi here found out about the new General, we had spies infiltrate the palace to learn more about him. Relatively soon, they started reporting about a Danger Beast that the General had captured and partly tamed. They eventually discovered that it was a large serpent about 50 feet long and sporting massive wings. This description is identical to that of a Mother Jaculus."

Indra's eyes widened. "I know the palace like the back of my hand. I've gotten in and out of there more times than I can count."

Chelsea nodded. "And Gaea Foundation here can ensure that I won't be recognized from anyone else."

"Then it's decided," stated Najenda. "Indra and Chelsea will go and retrieve the cure. I will bring Mine, Tatsumi, Leone and Lubbock back to the Revolutionary Army base camp. And Akame, you will stay here and tend to Jacobi."

"Why are we retreating?" Tatsumi demanded. "We can still help here!"

Najenda shook her head. "Without your Imperial Arms, you four will only be a burden. Until we can recapture them, you four will need to be content with waiting."

Leone sighed. "Well that sucks, but I guess it can't be helped."

"We'd best be going now. I'm counting on you three." Said Najenda.

"We won't let you down." Akame responded.

Najenda turned leave, but then had second thoughts. "Indra?"

"Yeah?"

"Because of your help, I now consider you an honorary member of Night Raid. If you complete this mission, however, I might just be tempted to remove that "honorary" title." Najenda said with a slight grin.

Indra sighed. "I don't really have a choice, do I?"

Najenda chuckled. "There is always a choice, but we would really appreciate your help in the future." With that, Najenda walked out the door.

Indra sighed again. "You see? She's trying to guilt trip me! If I don't join you guys, and something bad happens in the future, then I'm gonna be all guilty! So, the only choice for me to not be guilty is to join up!"

Chelsea just laughed as she started to walk out the door. Akame looked seriously at Indra.

"Maybe so," Akame began to say, "but any guilt would be yours and yours alone. We understand that this job is not for everyone, and we respect those who choose a different path. None of us would blame you for not joining us."

Indra looked quizzically at Akame.

"However-" Akame said, as her eyes glinted. "Should you join us, we would all be forever grateful of it."

A drop of sweat rolled down Indra's face. "Thanks, I guess?"

Akame nodded. "Now get going. We have only a little bit of time to save Jacobi."

"Right!" yelled Indra as he ran after Chelsea.

Akame watched Indra as he disappeared from sight, then returned to watering down Jacobi's wound.

 **…**

Indra and Chelsea watched the guards going in and out of the palace from a nearby alley. They all seemed to be in a hurry. As the two watched, they saw two guards heading in their direction.

Indra motioned for Chelsea to lend an ear. "You see those two guards?" he whispered.

Chelsea nodded.

"They seem to be heading over this way. If they get close enough, then we can take them out. You can transform into one of them, and I'll steal the other's uniform. We can get in that way."

Chelsea silently agreed.

As they watched, the two guards got closer and closer until they could make out some parts of their conversation.

"…and I said they probably should've just killed them without the whole 'execution' act. Now, because the General made a bad judgement call, we're the ones taking the heat for it!" Exclaimed one of the guards.

"Well," the other replied. "I heard that the General has a back-up plan, and that the one that failed was actually just a farce."

"Even then, he could've done it in a way where he takes full responsibility."

"Naturally, but what fun is that? You know how those generals think."

The first guard sighed. "Yeah, although I have to wonder what the difference is between those generals and us. Aren't we all human?"

The second guard shook his head. "The difference is an Imperial Arms. Having one of those gives you god-like powers and it gets to your head. Those people in power… I don't think they're entirely human anymore. Something's off about them. Something changed."

The first guard sighed. "I sometimes think it would be better to just join that Revolutionary Army. It would be nice to be given humane orders every now and again. However, I honestly wouldn't be able to go against someone like Esdeath. That's an area where I actually respect those Revolutionaries." He took a sip from a beer he was holding. "But although I respect them, I'd still run them through given the chance."

The two guards laughed, but it was quickly cut off by Indra and Chelsea pulling them into the alley. They swiftly knocked the guards out, and Chelsea turned away as Indra changed into the guard uniform. Once they both were ready, they headed towards the palace. The sun looked to be mid-way through its descent.

 **…**

The Deceiver looked over the vast palace grounds from one of the room's balconies. The beauty of the scene caught his eye, but he mainly focused on the gates. Taking hold of his amulet, The Deceiver looked deep into its depths.

"Max Target," he whispered, "show me the locations of my enemies." The amulet projected a three dimensional image of two guards walking through the gates of the palace. By the surroundings, it was the Southern entrance. The Deceiver grinned. "Clever… but not clever enough." He then called for his attendant.

"Sir!"

"Ready the trap." He said. "And fetch Xander. I believe that he will want to be present for this."

The attendant bowed. "Right away, sir."

The Deceiver didn't even bother watching the attendant leave. He instead focused on the projection, trying to guess their next move. "How will you face this challenge, Night Raid?" he asked himself. The amulet suddenly stopped projecting the image, and The Deceiver became dizzy. He shook his head. Whatever happened next, he wouldn't miss it for the world.

 **…**

After some walking, Chelsea and Indra were finally able to find Najenda's spy. He confirmed their identities, then started leading them to the dungeon. They descended a very long flight of stairs, and finally arrived at a large door.

Indra whistled. "It's certainly large enough for a Mother Jaculus."

The spy nodded. "It will probably attack the moment you open the door, so I'd be prepared if I were you."

Chelsea reverted to her normal form and thought of what Danger Beast she could transform into. Indra readied his crossbow and loaded a specialized bolt. They watched in anticipation as the spy unlocked the door and began opening it. As soon as the door was open enough, they rushed inside.

Indra looked around the large room in awe. "This place is huge! That ceiling must be hundreds of feet high!"

Chelsea just continued looking around. "Wasn't this room supposed to contain a giant snake?"

Suddenly, they heard the door click shut behind them and the lock turn.

"Hey!" Yelled Indra. "I thought you were on our side!"

An ominous chuckle came from the other side of the room. "Is this not what you were expecting?"

Chelsea turned around to see none other than The Deceiver. "Indra, when you said that a Mother Jaculus was scary, I didn't know you were joking." She quipped.

The Deceiver let out a sickening laugh. "I always appreciate a good joke from my victims. It gives me more satisfaction when I see the light leaving their eyes."

Indra gritted his teeth. "You must've known about the spy. What'd you do with him?"

The Deceiver pulled out a bag. He grabbed something from inside it and threw it onto the ground. "You mean this spy?" he asked as the head rolled to a stop.

A sharp intake of breath could be heard from Indra and Chelsea.

"So the 'spy' out there…" Chelsea began.

"…Is actually my loyal supporter. I must say, he's done an excellent job." said The Deceiver. "At least at fooling you two, but that really isn't much of an accomplishment now, is it?"

Chelsea just smiled sweetly. "We didn't come here to trade insults with an old man. Is there a monster here or not?"

"When referring to a 'monster', I assume you two are referring to my pet Jaculus, are you not? You want to kill it, extract its blood, and make a cure for your friend, right?" The Deceiver said sarcastically. "If you want to go through all that trouble, then I'd gladly leave this room, but then I guess this already-made-cure would just go to waste." He reached into a pouch and brought out a slender vial with a burgundy liquid inside of it.

Chelsea's eyes immediately focused on the vial. "Indra, can you tell if that's the cure from here?"

"As far as I know." He responded.

"I can personally guarantee its authenticity." Called The Deceiver.

"And why would we trust anything you say?" shot back Indra.

"Have I lied to you before?"

"…that's fair."

Chelsea elbowed Indra before turning to The Deceiver. "Fine then. Give it over."

The Deceiver tutted. "Not so fast. I never said that I would give it to you. _However_ , since I have already won my wager, I'll make a deal with you two." He then turned to face the wall behind him. "Xander!"

A hole opened in the wall, and Xander walked to where The Deceiver was standing.

Indra recognized him immediately. "You again?!"

Xander grinned. "How's your friend doing? Probably not very well, considering you two are here."

Chelsea gritted her teeth. "So that's where you were hiding that monster."

Xander bowed. "A pleasure to see your actual face madam, as the dragon scales were rather unbecoming of you."

"Your flirting needs work." She said curtly.

Xander started to walk towards her, but was stopped by The Deceiver. "My proposition is that we could have a duel of sorts. While a traditional duel is one-on-one, this would be you two versus Xander. The winner gets the vial."

Chelsea glared at The Deceiver. "What do you take us to be? Even should we win the cure, it would be useless to us if we couldn't get it to our friend."

"Nice thinking." Indra said to her.

The Deceiver chuckled. "Why, of course. Should you two win, then I'll signal the guard to open the door. However-" his eyes glinted, "you got yourselves into the palace, it'll be by your ability and none other's to escape."

Chelsea nodded. "Deal."

The Deceiver slowly walked towards the side of the chamber. Once there, he looked to Xander. "Dispose of them."

Xander grinned. "With pleasure." He then drew his sword.

Chelsea snickered. "That was terribly _cliché_ , wouldn't you say?"

Indra readjusted his grip on his crossbow. "Chelsea, I would appreciate if you didn't anger him. Angry targets are harder to hit."

Xander's grin grew larger. "I think you'll have enough problems with hitting me." He then tapped a band on his wrist repeatedly. For each tap, a body identical to his appeared. By the time he finished, there were about twenty clones standing with him.

Indra swallowed loudly. "Well crap. I should've seen that coming."

The small army of clones charged Chelsea and Indra. As they ran towards the two, Indra shot his bolt towards the center of the men. It released a net which snagged the front men running.

Indra looked to Chelsea. "If you could transform into another one of those dragons, then that'd be great!"

Chelsea grabbed the makeup brushes from Gaea Foundation and drew them across her body. When she was finished, her body disappeared from sight.

Indra did a double-take. "Chelsea?! I asked for a dragon, not a magic trick!"

The first clone finally reached Indra and swung its sword at Indra's neck. Indra dodged under it, pulled out his dagger and thrust it into the clone's throat. He then moved to take out the one coming behind the first.

 **…**

Chelsea watched this happen from an ant's perspective. Literally. When the clones had started to run at her and Indra, the first thing Chelsea thought to transform into was a small Praying Mantis with venom dripping off of its front legs.

After she confirmed the location of the next clone, she jumped onto his neck and stabbed the "kill spot". The clone fell, and she moved onto the next.

 **…**

Indra finished slashing another clone's throat before moving to another, but stopped when he saw that it had already fallen. He looked to see many more clones falling, one after another. Indra thought as to how something like that could be happening, but then remembered Chelsea's Gaea Foundation. Indra then loaded another bolt on his crossbow and shot one of the clones that were staring around in confusion.

Xander watched as his small army crumpled little by little. He was beyond frustrated, but there was nothing he could do short of fighting them himself. He cursed in his mind before moving to make more clones. However, something caught his eye as he watched another clone fall mysteriously. He grinned smugly as he tapped his band a few more times.

Chelsea was jumping around, killing or paralyzing clones left and right. She jumped to another, but before she reached her destination, a hand came out of nowhere and slammed her to the ground. A boot then came into view as it descended towards her. Chelsea knew she wouldn't survive if it landed on her as a Mantis, so she reverted back to her human self.

The boot continued, however, right into her gut. Xander leaned down and grabbed her by the hair as he lifted her up.

"I'll admit, you've got some impressive tricks up your sleeve." Xander said cockily. "But you're still just a girl playing with matters you know nothing of."

"At least I'm not a stupid boy messing with a new toy he found on the side of the road." Chelsea shot back.

"You'll regret those words soon enough." Xander then started to swing his sword at her head.

 **…**

Indra had never dominated an entire army by himself before. He hadn't really attempted it, and never really considered it an option. Up until now. Indra shot one clone in the face, sliced the throat of another, pulled his bolt from the clone he shot, and then drove it into the leg of another clone rushing him. Indra used that opening to stick his dagger in the clone's chest. He was now completely surrounded, but the clones just seemed so _slow_.

Indra defeated yet another, before seeing Xander in the distance batting at some fly. _'Is he really_ that _bored?'_ he thought before seeing Chelsea appear on the ground below Xander. _'Oh crap!'_

Indra threw his dagger at one clone, grabbed two of his bolts, stuck them through two other's chests, then ran in the opening created towards Chelsea and Xander. He watched as Xander began to grasp his sword in a manner meaning that he was going to attack. Xander was going right for the kill.

Indra hastily readied a bolt, gripped his crossbow tightly, and then slid along the ground. As soon as he was below Xander, he fired. A loud scream filled the chamber as Xander palmed at his bleeding face. Indra looked to see that he had missed his target, but the shot left a nasty scar running up Xander's face. Indra then jumped at Xander, ready to finish the job with his dagger.

"Max Target, time pause!" yelled The Deceiver. Indra froze in midair. The Deceiver walked towards them, surveying the results of the battle. "Most impressive. I never thought that you two would be able to wield such deadly force." The Deceiver glanced at Chelsea, then Indra. "My best soldier was defeated by a girl with a cosmetics box… and an archer. Very interesting."

Indra inhaled as The Deceiver resumed time. "We won, right?" he asked.

The Deceiver nodded. "Yes."

"Then give us the vial." Indra demanded.

"General, we don't have to-" began Xander, but The Deceiver stopped him with a wave of his hand.

"A deal is a deal." The Deceiver said before handing the vial to Chelsea. Chelsea stored the vial in a compartment in Gaea Foundation, but never lowered her guard. The Deceiver then turned towards the wall opposite the door. "Now, I have business to attend to. You're on your own."

Indra looked to Chelsea. "Is that it?"

She frowned. "I think so…"

They both gave one last glance to Xander and The Deceiver before walking back. As they watched, the door unlocked and opened.

However, just before they were able to get out, they heard The Deceiver calling to them.

"I almost forgot! The lady said she wanted to fight a monster, didn't she?"

Indra sighed. "I knew it was too easy…"

A large section of the side wall slid aside, revealing a long tunnel. A large head then slowly emerged from it, followed by a long tubular body and two enormous wings. The serpent slithered out into the chamber, and coiled up right in the way of Indra and Chelsea.

The Deceiver chuckled evilly. "Oops."

The sections in the wall then closed, leaving Indra and Chelsea alone with the giant creature.

Indra swallowed loudly. "That author better be ready to censor some choice words."

 **…**

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" yelled Indra as he ran from the Mother Jaculus. It snapped at where he just was, then quickly pursued after its loud victim.

Chelsea grabbed her makeup brushes and quickly changed herself into a large lion. She roared, and proceeded to chomp down on the snake. Her teeth just bounced off, however, and the Jaculus immediately tried to bite back.

Indra grabbed a crossbow bolt specifically designed to penetrate extremely hard surfaces, and fired it towards the snake. However, because of the angle, it merely glanced off. The Jaculus then wrapped itself around Chelsea and started to chase Indra.

Chelsea felt herself being slowly suffocated, so she changed back and slipped through its grip. She took that chance to survey the creature. While it was obvious that Indra exaggerated some aspects of it, the Mother Jaculus was a rather scary creature. Its most unnerving feature was its eyes. They were just a void black, looking almost dead. Chelsea watched as Indra fired another shot, and it again glanced off of the scales.

Indra looked over and saw Chelsea just standing there. "Seriously?! Some help would be nice! Like a lion-" Indra dodged another lunge, "or a dragon-" he jumped over its tail, which swung back around in an attempt to trip him, "or just SOMETHING!"

Chelsea shot him an annoyed look. "Just keep it busy, will you?"

"Of-frigging-course. I'll just keep up this act while you plan out some elaborate scheme which will either involve me maimed or dead. If so, then my personal preference is maimed! Actually maybe dead… heck, why not both? Death by decapitation!"

Chelsea snapped her fingers. "Yes!"

Indra's eyes widened enormously. "Wait, WHAT?! I was just joking!"

Chelsea gave another annoyed look at Indra. "Not you, the Jaculus! Your bolts can't penetrate its scales, but its mouth and eyes aren't covered by any. Just aim for one of those two spots!"

Indra sidestepped yet another lunge. "Easier said than done, Princess!" However, despite that, he still loaded the crossbow. Indra waited until the Jaculus was about to try to take a bite out of him, and then took his shot. It sailed through the air, right into the Serpent's open gullet. Well, it would have, if the Jaculus didn't see the bolt and attempt to dodge it. Because of that action, the bolt instead flew into its tooth.

A crack spread across the tooth, and it finally split in two. The Jaculus paused, and then ran its tongue over the tooth. It then looked down angrily at Indra. Its eyes turned from pitch black to bright red.

Indra stepped back hesitantly. "G-good snake?"

The Jaculus simply raised its wings high above its head, then began to flap them. Within a few strokes, the Jaculus was flying in a circle above them.

Indra began running and screaming again. Chelsea watched unamused before shaking her head.

"Never send a man to do a woman's job…" she muttered as she ran after Indra. "Indra! Lure it back in my direction, but not too close to me!"

"Yes ma'am!" Indra yelled back sarcastically. "Wouldn't want to soil Her Majesty's clothing, would we?!" Indra made a prayer to whatever god watched over assassins, then turned sharply.

Chelsea watched as Indra brought the serpent back her way, and then eventually passed by her. As she had predicted, the Jaculus focused on Indra, so she grabbed onto its tail at the last possible second. From there, she began to crawl up the long body.

Indra sneaked a quick glance behind him to see what Chelsea was going to do, and almost tripped when she wasn't there. "The witch left me! What a-" The Jaculus roared loudly. Indra resumed his escape attempt.

Chelsea finally reached the beast's head, and climbed to a position where she could reach her needles. Grabbing a fist-full of them, she then proceeded to stab it in the right eye. The Jaculus roared loudly, and shook Chelsea off of its head. It fell to the ground, and before the monster could react, Chelsea stabbed it in the other eye.

Indra finally stopped running when he noticed nothing was chasing after him. He looked back to see the creature on the ground, both eyes bleeding profusely. Indra then saw Chelsea running towards him, covered in the serpent's blood. His jaw dropped.

"HOW?" he demanded.

"It doesn't matter! Just shoot it!" she yelled back.

Indra grumbled as he loaded his crossbow with a bolt that (he assumed) was explosive. "Darn warrior princesses… scary as Hell… won't stop ordering me around…"

"You realize I can hear you, right?"

Indra pulled back the string. "'Course, otherwise I wouldn't be talking."

The Jaculus had seemed to still its body, even though whimpers could be heard from it. It cocked its head towards Indra's and Chelsea's location.

"Are you going to finally do something with your life, or are you just gonna stand there?" asked Chelsea.

Indra looked over to the Jaculus. "Well, I gotta make sure I don't miss this ti- OH CRAP!" He grabbed Chelsea and jumped to the side as the Jaculus rushed through where they were before, its maw open wide. It then turned around for another attempt.

Indra stood up and aimed carefully at the serpent. It was heading right for him, the slithering motions moving its head erratically. Indra carefully tried to aim at his target. It came closer and closer, but Indra didn't move from that position.

"Almost… got it…" Indra then pulled the trigger and leaped out of the way. The Jaculus continued moving until it hit a wall, at which point the bolt decided to explode. Jaculus blood and guts started to rain down in a spectacular display.

Indra and Chelsea just stood there as they got a literal blood bath. Indra was the first to break the silence.

"This is your fault."

Chelsea almost exploded. "Excuse me?!"

"You're the one who wanted to fight a monster! You just _had_ to taunt the people with the pet that could raze a city."

"How was I supposed to know we would still have to face one? I thought we were in the clear as soon as that general said we'd have to fight Ugly back there!"

"There you go again!" exclaimed Indra. "Your insults are gonna get us both killed! Not to mention Jacobi!"

Chelsea was about to make a retort, but then shut her mouth.

Indra sighed. "Let's just get out of here."

They didn't speak another word amongst each other.

 **…**

Akame sponged Jacobi down yet again. He had developed a high fever, and was heating up even more by the minute. When Akame looked outside, the sun was close to touching the Earth. As she went back to watching over her patient, she heard footsteps approaching. She reached for Murasame, but let it go when she saw who it was.

Indra waved at Akame. "Hey," and then promptly collapsed.

Chelsea waved as well, and then reached inside Gaea Foundation. She handed the vial to Akame before laying down herself.

Akame took a moment to appreciate the efforts from the two of them, then applied the cure to Jacobi's wound. Steam started to rise from the gash, but the color gradually started to return to normal. It seemed that they had gotten it in time.

"Did you use all of it on the wound?" Chelsea asked tiredly.

Akame shook her head. "No."

"Then make him drink some. That'll ensure that it gets in his bloodstream."

Akame did as Chelsea instructed, but then looked curiously to Chelsea. "How did you know that?"

Chelsea yawned. "Indra told me on our way to the palace." With that, she made herself comfortable and fell asleep. Indra was already snoring.

Akame smiled at the exhausted two. Whatever they had gone through, it would probably make a good story. She looked out the window as the sun finally disappeared, and the coolness of night took its place. Najenda could wait until morning.

 **…**

The Deceiver watched Xander's face closely. It seemed to show some remorse about what happened, but it most of all just seemed angry. The new scar didn't help much.

"Sir, I swear that I won't let this happen again. It was a mistake on my part for underestimating them. The same mistake shall not be repeated."

The Deceiver nodded. "Let's hope so. Maybe that scar will encourage you to do better in the future."

Xander bowed his head. "Yes sir."

The Deceiver turned away. "Begone."

Xander walked towards the door and let himself out. As he did, a guard took his place.

"General, sir!" he said.

The Deceiver turned towards him. "What is it?"

"Lady Gwendolyn would like a word with you."

"Hm… let her in."

The guard left and was soon replaced by the beauty herself.

"I see you have been promoted to general since our last visit. How impressive." She said smoothly.

"I have little patience for flattery. What are you here for Gwen?" The Deceiver said curtly.

Gwen backed away a step. "Is that any way to talk to an old friend?"

"I am in no mood for pleasantries. As I said before, _why_ are you here?"

Gwen sighed. "Fine. I want to know the identity of a certain person, and I'm willing to pay handsomely for that knowledge."

The Deceiver sighed. "Do you ever get tired of such antics?"

Gwen licked her lips. "Oh no. My game is one that only gets sweeter the longer it goes on."

"Fine. But just this once."

"How much are you charging?"

The Deceiver took out his amulet. "Depends on the person." He looked at it closely, then muttered, "Max Target, show me whom she desires." A three dimensional image appeared of the boy she held in her memories. As The Deceiver looked upon the image, his grin grew wider and wider.

Gwen started to become impatient. "Well, what's it going to be?"

The Deceiver looked her dead in the eyes. "I suggest you get that axe you're so fond of." He then looked out his window. "We've got business to attend to."

 **…**

 **Alright, I made this chapter extra-long to make up for my absence. I might start making them all this long, but I guess we'll see. Please feel free to review and criticize as you see fit. I'll try to make the next chapter ASAP, but I really don't know. In case I can't get another chapter done, have a good summer.**


	10. Part 1: Chapter 10

**Hello everybody! Just an FYI, I now have an official layout of the events I'm adding into the story, from beginning to end. I started this story with just a general idea of the characters and the end I was working toward, but I'm happy to say that I won't have to spend as much time thinking 'what should I put next?' So, just thought I should let you guys know about that. Hope you enjoy!**

 **…**

 _The sun sat low in the sky as Jacobi sat down on the soft grass under a large tree. He looked out over the underlying hills and forests, being able to see a long distance away as the tree was on a rise. He sighed as a cool breeze fluttered through, partially dispelling the hot and humid summer air. As he watched the sun fall slowly, he saw a figure emerge from the woods. It was a girl about his age, with long blonde hair. He stood and waved to her, a large smile appearing on his face._

 _The girl saw him and returned the gesture, running towards him. As Jacobi settled back against the tree, the girl finally reached him. She smiled widely as she stood over him, and then took a seat beside him._

 _"I'm here as you asked!" she said gleefully. "Now what was it you wanted to show me?"_

 _Jacobi grinned. "Look at the view."_

 _She looked out over the setting, and even saw the capital city in the distance. "It's so cool! You can see everything from here!"_

 _Jacobi laughed. "I'm glad you like it. I've been coming up here for a year or so now, and the only problem I've found with it is that it's lonely. So I just thought it would be nice if you would start coming up here too…" Jacobi's voice drifted off, and he blushed._

 _The girl laughed and gave Jacobi a hug. "Well, it's not lonely anymore. I'll come up here as much as you'd like!"_

 _Jacobi returned the hug. "If that's so, then we're gonna be up here a lot more often."_

 _She laughed as she pulled away. "All the better."_

 _They both quieted as the sun sank lower in the sky. As they watched, the girl leaned her head on Jacobi's shoulder. They both blushed, but they remained in that position. They remained there, enjoying the silence as the sun finally left the world above._

 _As soon as the sun disappeared, Jacobi's vision became pitch black. He realized that he couldn't feel the grass, the tree or the girl. He stood up in an attempt to look for her, but he could see nothing. As he desperately looked, a soft light caught his eyes. He started sprinting in the direction of it, and eventually came across a bright circle of light. He walked into it, and then noticed a form lying in the center. He walked towards it, then kneeled down next to it. It was a body. He felt for the pulse, but there was nothing. He tried turning the body over so he could see the face, but it felt as heavy as solid lead. He finally turned the body over, and took a moment to catch his breath. He then looked at the face._

 _It was the girl he had just been with, and a large slash parted her face diagonally. A line of blood trickled down from the corner of her lip. Jacobi jumped back, and then fell back down on his rear. Looking up, he then saw a copy of himself standing over the body. He was holding his swords, both of them being bloody. The copy gave a maniacal grin to Jacobi, then plunged both of his swords into the girl's torso. Jacobi tried to stop him, but he was too slow. More blood started to pour out. The copy then pulled one out and advanced towards Jacobi. The other sword still remained in the girl's body._

 _The copy threw the sword at Jacobi's feet, and started laughing hysterically. "You did this." The copy said. "You killed her."_

 _Jacobi shook his head furiously. "No! I didn't!"_

 _The copy just laughed all the harder. "You might as well have."_

 _Another light beamed down, illuminating a distinctly feminine figure. The copy looked towards it, licking his lips._

 _"Let's see who's next, shall we?!" the copy said as he picked up the sword and approached the figure._

 _Jacobi tried standing up, but he couldn't. He looked helplessly as the copy continued walking. He struggled, but it was useless. He stared in horror as the figure turned to face him. She gave a sad smile as the copy swung his sword._

 **...**

Jacobi awoke to bright sunlight filtering through the fabric of a tent. He sat up, and rubbed his arms. They were drenched in sweat. He shivered as he recalled his dream. As he thought through it, he realized he hadn't seen the face of the feminine figure. He looked around, and recognized the tent's layout from the Revolutionary Army's medical tents. As he was about to stand up, a doctor came in through an opening in the side of the tent. She gave him a grim smile.

"So you're finally awake." She said as she set a glass of water down on the table.

Jacobi eyed the glass, and picked it up after a few seconds of hesitation. He drank the contents quickly, but was not sated.

"You've been out for a few days, so it might take a little bit for your full strength to come back to you. Not to mention what that wound has done to you."

Jacobi frowned. "What wound?"

The doctor adopted his frown. "You don't remember? I was told that you were conscious enough after the wound to have kept memories of it. If you don't remember that, then what was the last thing that you remember?"

Jacobi stared at the ground. "I remember fighting some soldiers… there were two that I had clearly outmatched, but another one kept stepping in and nicking me. I found an opening and moved to take advantage but it didn't work… and then there was searing pain all across my back… and that's it." Jacobi's eyes widened. "Chelsea and the others! Are they ok?!"

The doctor nodded. "Your mission was a success. Everyone got out relatively unharmed, except you."

Jacobi sighed in relief. "That's good." He then tried to stand up, but searing pain across his back stopped him.

The doctor gently laid him back on the mattress. "You're unfit to go running around. The poison destroyed too much muscle."

Jacobi looked strangely at the doctor. "Poison? What poison?"

"The sword that cut you was tipped in jaculus venom."

Jacobi winced. "And I'm still alive?"

The doctor nodded. "I was told that your friends, Chelsea and Indra, led a rather heroic mission to retrieve the cure. You owe them your life."

Jacobi grinned. "I guess so. I'll have to thank them." He moved to get up, but the doctor pushed him down firmly.

"Later." She said.

"Now." He insisted as he tried again. When she yet again resisted, he looked her square in the face. "Staying here means I'll inevitably fall asleep. I'd rather not, as my last dream was unpleasant. So you can either help me up, or I'll just get up when you're not looking and risk further injury."

She frowned before sighing and helping him to his feet.

 **…**

Jacobi walked in the direction of the general's tent, wincing occasionally. The doctor let him go, but insisted on first replacing his bandages and giving him a quick check. During this, Jacobi had asked the doctor where his jacket was, but she said she knew nothing about a jacket. Jacobi decided to ask Chelsea and Indra when he saw them.

Jacobi honestly felt fine as soon as he started walking around, save a dull throbbing along his back. People looked at him as he passed by, but no one talked to him. He wondered just how much they had been told.

The command tent finally came in view, and Jacobi walked in. Inside, General Kota and Najenda were leaning over a table with a diagram of the capital city, discussing something. Susanoo stood a little behind Najenda. The tent fell into silence as Jacobi walked in.

General Kota smiled as he went up and shook Jacobi's hand. "It's good to see you again, Jacobi."

Jacobi nodded. "Of course, General Kota."

Najenda walked up to him, and shook his hand with her metal one. She looked him directly in the eyes, and slightly grinned. "You look much better than a few days ago."

Jacobi rubbed his side. "How long was I unconscious?"

"About three days. You've only been in the camp for two though." Said Najenda.

General Kota then turned back to the table. "Now, it really is great to have you awake, but we must return to our meeting."

Jacobi nodded. "I understand General. However, if I may ask, what are you meeting about?"

"Battle plans," interjected Najenda. "Current events are forcing us to move sooner than we originally planned."

General Kota sighed. "We're working on a rough sketch: something to present to our commanders. However, I can't get past this one obstacle!" He slammed his fist against the table. "It's beyond frustrating!"

"What obstacle?" Jacobi asked.

"General Esdeath," said Najenda. "She's too powerful, and could possibly take out all of our forces single-handedly. She'll need to go if we're to take over the capital."

Jacobi moved to leave the tent. "I guess we'll need to get rid of her then."

Najenda nodded. "Yes. In any case, I suggest you go get yourself some food. You haven't eaten in days."

As she said that, Jacobi's stomach growled. He smiled sheepishly, and then walked out. "Yeah, I guess so."

As soon as he got to the cooking area of the camp, he was assaulted from behind.

"Jacobi, my man!" shouted Indra as hung on Jacobi's shoulder. "You're finally up!"

"Yeah, and I can barely keep my own weight up so I'd appreciate if you didn't add yours." Jacobi responded.

Indra grinned as he shifted to help support Jacobi. "It's been boring around here. There's nothing to do but chores, and they aren't very interesting. Plus all the crap I'm getting for being a new member of Night Raid…"

Jacobi looked at Indra curiously. "When did that happen?"

"After I saved your sorry butt. To be honest though, you look better without the huge green gash on your back."

Jacobi laughed. "I guess so. In any case, I had wanted to thank you for saving me. I also want to thank Chelsea, but I don't know where she is."

Indra looked confused. "What do you mean, you can't find her? She hasn't left your side since we got back. It's actually rather creepy, now that I think about it."

Jacobi shook his head. "The only one there when I woke up was one of the doctors."

"Strange." Commented Indra.

Suddenly, Jacobi saw the doctor from earlier walking towards them. He escaped from Indra's grip and walked towards her.

"Excuse me, miss? May I speak to you?" Jacobi asked her.

She looked at him. "Ah, yes. Jacobi. Are you feeling well?"

Jacobi nodded. "Yeah. Anyways, where is Chelsea? I had heard that she was watching over me while I was under, and I thought since you were the doctor assigned to me that you would know where she went."

Indra walked over. "Umm, Jacobi?"

Jacobi turned to him. "What?"

"That _is_ Chelsea."

Jacobi looked back, and there stood Chelsea with her Gaea Foundation brushes in her hands and her trademark lollipop in her mouth. She laughed at Jacobi's expression.

"I'm sorry; I thought you would respond better to a doctor being there when you awoke." Chelsea said.

Jacobi shook his head, trying to process it. "No, it's fine. But I actually would have preferred it if you had not disguised yourself. I'd take a friend over a stranger any day."

Chelsea smiled. "Well, I'm glad to hear that you consider me as such."

Indra suddenly popped up between them, holding his chin. He rubbed said chin, then looked back and forth between them. "Most interesting…" he said, then backed away. "…and creepy. You two have fun; I'll go grab some grub." He then took his leave, walking towards one of the tents distributing food.

Jacobi wanted to follow after Indra and ask what he meant by that, but he was already gone. He looked back at Chelsea, who had a light blush to her cheeks.

"Anyways, did you find out what happened to my jacket?" asked Jacobi.

Chelsea seemed startled by the question, but then sighed. "When we were treating your wound, back in the capital, it got in the way. The front was fine, but most of the back was ruined. I had to take it off."

"Where is it now?" Jacobi asked.

"I sent it to someone in the camp to repair it. I had actually hoped that they would have finished it before you woke up, but I guess not." She said.

Jacobi sighed in relief. "So you didn't scrap it. That's good."

Chelsea looked at him quizzically. "Is it important to you?"

Jacobi nodded. "Yeah, it was a gift from someone special to me."

Before Chelsea could inquire further, Akame stepped up to them and acknowledged them. "Jacobi, Chelsea."

Jacobi gave a slight bow. "Akame."

Chelsea only gave a nod and exchanged her current lollipop for a new one.

Akame then focused on Jacobi. "I need you to rest up. There's a mission you're being sent on tonight."

Chelsea broke the lollipop stick in half. "He has a mission already?!"

Akame gave an understanding look. "It's nothing dangerous, he's just bringing a message to a scouting camp a little ways away. He'll be done in a couple hours at most."

Chelsea looked defiantly at Akame. "Even so, he's not going anywhere. He is in no condition to go anywhere outside of camp."

Akame readjusted her stance. "It's not up to you. This is an order."

"Then I'll go talk to Najenda."

Jacobi could see that this was going to turn into a problem, so he stepped between the two women. He then turned to Chelsea and clasped her hands in between his. "It'll only be a little walk. I promise I won't hurt myself."

Chelsea's blush returned, but she remained defiant. "What if there's a danger beast out there, or-"

Jacobi cut her off. "There won't be. I think I know which camp she's talking about. Too many hunters pass through that area for anything dangerous to live there. Everything else I can handle, even in this state."

Chelsea seemed to want to argue more, but just retracted her hands. "Fine. Go jump off a cliff for all I care." She then walked away through the tents.

Jacobi was slightly hurt by her words, but knew that she was just worried. He turned to Akame. "When will I be needed?"

 **…**

The Deceiver looked at the two Jaegers standing before him. They were on a grassy area in the palace grounds, with only a wall close by. The two before him were considered high among the Jaegers, though there were only five, but Esdeath had said that they were two of her best. One was a man named Run, and the other was a woman by the name of Seryu. Seryu was holding a dog in her arms, which she called by the name of Koro.

The Deceiver nodded to a soldier to his left, and two dummies were brought out. They were placed a few meters away, and then the soldiers backed away. The Deceiver looked back at the Jaegers.

"Esdeath has told me that you two are extremely skilled in combat. Show me. Destroy one of the targets."

As soon as The Deceiver finished, Run spread his wings. The next moment, the dummy was laden with multiple feathers, all piercing vital locations on a human body. Seryu was slower to react, setting Koro down before facing her target.

"Koro, number three." She said. The dog's mouth grew impossibly large, and then closed around her metallic right arm. When the dog pulled away, a large sword took the arm's place. She aimed the sword, and charged at the dummy. She cut through it multiple times, then stopped and looked at the pile of wood. "Koro, destroy." She said, and then Koro opened its mouth wide before swallowing the wood.

The Deceiver was impressed. Of course, the actual test of their skill was still to come, but this was adequate for now. He clapped, and then ordered the soldiers to go clean up the remains. Once they were done, The Deceiver looked at the Imperial Arms the two Jaegers wielded.

"The teigu Mastema: the demon wings, and the teigu Hekatonkheires: dubbed 'Koro'. I believe you two will be very useful to me."

Seryu smiled somewhat insanely. "I'll do anything for the sake of justice!" she proclaimed.

Run was more reserved. "I thank you, sir. I hope I will not disappoint you."

The Deceiver then started walking back into the palace, motioning Run and Seryu to follow them. "I have consulted Max Target, and it says that you two and Gwen will encounter a Night Raid member at the Southern Falls. If you hurry, you can set an ambush."

"Of course, we shall head out immediately." Run responded.

Seryu just laughed and petted Koro. "You hear that, Koro? Your next meal's coming up!" The dog barked excitedly.

 **…**

Jacobi lay quietly on the bed in his tent. Since he was still considered partially incapacitated, he was told to stay in the medical area, but Akame had told him he'd be moved as soon as he passed a physical. Jacobi stood up and looked out the tent opening, and saw that the sun was halfway concealed by the surrounding land. Night was falling quickly. Jacobi was reminded of his dream, but shook his head as if to shoo the thought away. As he continued looking, he heard some steps approaching his tent. A messenger approached him, handed him a letter containing orders for the scouting camp, then went to deliver another message.

Jacobi moved to put the letter into his jacket pocket, but was surprised when nothing was there. He then remembered, and sighed, deciding to just hold it. He walked towards the entrance of the camp, then left to walk in the surrounding woods. There was a game trail leading in the direction he was going, so Jacobi just followed it.

He eventually reached a river and heard a waterfall in the distance. The scouting camp he was going to was positioned close to a junction of two main roads, both of which were frequented by soldiers. The Southern Falls was also close by, an ancient monument of the power of water. The height of the waterfall was average, but the falls stretched out over a mile, having several rivers joining into a single large one and then dropping over the edge. The sound from the water crashing can be heard for miles around.

Jacobi followed the river until he reached the magnificent sight of the falls. He took a second to admire the sight of the faint moonlight hitting the falling water, and then continued his trek. As he walked along, he noticed that the falls concealed any other noises. While that helped him, it also helped anyone trying to sneak up on him. As Jacobi rounded a slight bend, he thought about how such a place would be great for an ambush.

As soon as the thought registered, a young woman leaped out of the nearby trees and pointed a gun at him. Jacobi immediately raised his hands in surrender, realizing that he had little chance of defeating an armed adversary. The girl tried shouting to him, but Jacobi couldn't hear her over the falls. The girl eventually gave up and motioned the gun into the forest, indicating Jacobi to walk in that direction. Jacobi obeyed and moved accordingly. They walked through the forest until the Southern Falls were only partially audible in the distance.

The girl then turned to face him. As the moonlight reached her face, Jacobi recognized her as the person who killed Sheele. However, Jacobi kept any reaction he may have had hidden.

"Alright, I listened to you and followed you to the middle of the woods. What do you want from me?" Jacobi asked.

The woman grinned evilly. "Do you not recognize me? The one who killed your comrade?"

Jacobi shrugged. "No, not really. I was just fetching something for my parents when you threatened me with a gun and took me hostage."

The woman's grin disappeared. "Don't play stupid with me! I know you're a part of Night Raid! I have your wanted poster right here!" The girl then brought out Jacobi's wanted poster, complete with a portrait.

Jacobi just looked confused at the poster. "What are you talking about? What's this 'Night Raid' you speak of? If you're not looking for me, then I need to get back to my errand…" Jacobi turned around and was about to walk away, but was stopped by a small dog coming out of the brush. It was growling, and was much more intimidating than its small frame suggested.

The girl laughed. "Koro here can sense those who are evil. He's sniffing, and you're turning up positive. Now tell me what I want to know, or I'll let Koro devour you right here and now."

Suddenly, another woman and a man walked into Jacobi's sight. The man walked around to flank Jacobi while the woman stopped right in front of Jacobi, seemingly examining him. She looked into his eyes, and a smile graced her lips. Jacobi looked at the woman, and realized that she looked rather similar to the girl in his dream.

"Seryu, I'll handle him from here." She said. Seryu tried to argue, but the woman cut her off quickly. "I was the one put in charge, was I not?" Seryu quickly quieted herself. The woman then nodded to the man, who spread wings and began to fly up and in a circle, not unlike a vulture. The woman then returned her attention to Jacobi. She took another look into his eyes, then started to circle him slowly.

"You're in much better shape than when I first saw you." She said.

"And when was that?" Jacobi asked.

"A few days ago. You were unconscious, and being carried by a woman named Akame. A Night Raid member." The woman then paused and looked him in the eyes. "Even though you are so determined to deny it, we do indeed know your connection to Night Raid. Even if you aren't a true member, you're still acquainted with them. Which is a capital crime."

The woman resumed her walking. Jacobi tried one last attempt at denying any connections.

"How can you be sure it was me? I'm sure there are many people who look similar to me."

The woman just laughed. "Maybe so, but in the glimpse I caught of you, you opened your eyes. A picture I will never forget. Looking at you now, I know that it was you. There is no mistaking it."

Jacobi's last hope vanished. "Fine then. What are you gonna do, execute me? Last time you people tried that, it didn't work out too well."

The woman laughed again. "No, we're not going to kill you. I simply want you escorted back to the palace."

Seryu, who was listening to all of this, suddenly gritted her teeth. "What?! He is evil! We have to kill him!"

The woman gave a pointed glare at Seryu. "Who's in command?"

Seryu looked angry about it, but calmed herself. The woman returned to walking around Jacobi.

"You see, the quick moment that I saw you, I saw something briefly appear in your eyes."

"And what would that be?" Jacobi challenged.

"Heart break. You've experienced it before, and it has scarred you ever since."

Jacobi's mind reeled back to his dream, and many others he'd had before. He then looked directly at the woman. "Who are you?"

She stopped walking. "My name is Lady Gwendolyn, but you may call me Gwen. I would ask your name, but I already learned of it. _Jacobi._ " She said the last word seductively, looking Jacobi directly in his eyes.

Jacobi had to look away. "And why would my experiencing heart break be any concern of yours? If I'm Night Raid as you say, then shouldn't that be great news for you?"

Gwen turned Jacobi's head to look back at her. "On the contrary, it has given me a goal: to mend that broken heart of yours. You see, seeing that in you…" she leaned to whisper in his ear, "has made me _interested_."

Jacobi shuddered, but kept his cool. "So you just want me as your boy toy?"

Gwen shook her head. "Why, of course not! I would never do such a horrible thing to such a nice young man! You'd only have to stay in my household, do some favors, and generally live a nice life in luxury. Maybe even become more, if you behave yourself."

Jacobi couldn't honestly say that he wasn't tempted. Most men would crumble under such an offer, but luxury wasn't Jacobi's goal in life. "I can't accept that offer. Luxury may be enjoyable, but it's not everything."

Gwen laughed. "Of course. The Deceiver told me how he met you. How about this: if you take my offer, then I'll talk to The Deceiver about removing your little 'problem'."

Jacobi clenched his teeth. "Like Hell he'll take that away. I'm not going with you, so kill me now."

Gwen sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that… the thing is, I can walk you back, or I can carry you back. Your choice." She then pulled out an axe the length of her arm. She then aimed it at him. Jacobi reached for his swords, but then remembered he had left them at camp. All he had on him was his hidden blades and a few narcotic darts.

Gwen saw his gesture. "Leaving your toys at home wasn't the smartest move. Anything could be walking around, just waiting to snatch away the lives of the unsuspecting."

Jacobi clenched his fists, and then readied a fighting stance. Koro growled and Seryu readied to fight, but Gwen just raised an arm. "Again, Seryu, I can handle this. However, prepare to catch him should he get away." She then raised her axe and swung it.

Jacobi barely dodged the attack, and then threw a few quick punches at Gwen.

"It isn't nice to hit a girl." She said as she easily dodged the attacks.

"Neither is it nice to decapitate your crush." Jacobi fired back as he went to kick her feet out from under her.

She used her axe to block Jacobi's kick, then swung the handle at Jacobi's face, landing a solid hit across his cheek. "I will allow no such talk from a gentleman."

Jacobi wiped his cheek on his arm sleeve. "People are usually too scared to hit their crush, thinking that they'll lose interest in them. I'll give you props for that."

Gwen swung again at Jacobi, and this time he had no time to dodge. He quickly lifted his arms and flicked out his blades, barely stopping the incoming axe blade. He then used his strength to push back Gwen.

"Oh, so you've got some tricks up your sleeve? Most intriguing." Gwen said as she swung at Jacobi's side. Jacobi dropped to the ground, and then hooked his feet on Gwen's. He kicked quickly, tripping Gwen, as he pushed himself back to his feet.

He looked at Gwen, ready to stab her with his blades, but he stopped as she looked up at him. He was brought back to his dream, looking down on the girl, but this time he was in the position of the copy. Jacobi stumbled back, trying to rid that image from his head.

Gwen grinned as she stood up. She then swung the haft of the axe at Jacobi's head with enough force to knock him out, but the swing was blocked by a blade. She looked to see none other than the legendary Akame standing in front of Jacobi.

Jacobi looked at Akame, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Akame pushed back against the axe and knocked the end of it onto the ground. She then swung at Gwen, but Gwen was able to block the attack in time.

Jacobi realized their chance and grabbed Akame's shoulder. "Let's get out of here!" he yelled. He then tried running away, but Koro blocked his path as it slowly grew bigger. Thinking quickly, Jacobi realized that his blades wouldn't be able to stop the dog at all. His only option was to use another method. Jacobi grabbed a fistful of his narcotic darts and stabbed them into the now mutated dog. It tried to stay standing, but fell flat on its face. A snore could be heard from it as Jacobi stepped over it and resumed running.

Seryu then appeared in front of him. She swung a sword at his head, but he blocked with one of his hidden blades. He grabbed his remaining narcotic dart and tried stabbing it into Seryu's arm, but the point broke. Jacobi then realized that Seryu's arms were made of metal.

 _'That's new.'_ Was all he thought as Seryu grinned and then punched him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him. She was about to punch him in his face, but he quickly stabbed her in her leg. As she tried to then swing her sword, he grabbed her head and slammed it into his knee. She was out instantly. Jacobi looked back to see that Akame had pinned down Gwen and disarmed her, about to deliver that killing blow.

Jacobi was just going to let Akame do it, but then remembered the dream. He walked behind Akame and grabbed the hand that held her sword. Akame looked at Jacobi, but he just grabbed Gwen's axe and knocked her out with the haft. He then turned to Akame.

"We don't need to kill them. Where's the winged one?"

Akame didn't allow Jacobi to get away easily. "These women would not offer the same mercy. We must kill them." She again tried to stab Gwen, but Jacobi stood in her way. "If we allow them to live, then they'll eventually fight us again, and then may kill one of our comrades. Are you willing to accept that responsibility?"

Jacobi stood silently. He looked at Akame helplessly, almost pleadingly. He tried to talk, stopped, then tried again. He finally got a few words out. "No. I don't want to see any more death."

"You're an assassin. Seeing more death is inevitable."

Jacobi looked down at the ground sullenly. "I know but… not now. Just this once, don't kill your adversary. Please."

Akame looked closely at Jacobi. "Chelsea was right."

Jacobi looked up in surprise. Akame then continued, "You're unfit to go on any missions. Return to the camp immediately."

Jacobi slowly nodded. Akame then sheathed her sword and walked back in the directions of the falls. Before she left, she stopped and looked back at Jacobi. "I don't know what has come across you. In any case, you need to get rid of it." She then motioned to Seryu and Gwen. "Any lives these two take are now on your hands." She then disappeared into the trees.

Jacobi dropped onto his knees, tears threatening to start falling. _'I didn't expect you to understand.'_ He thought. _'You never feel anything.'_

As Jacobi pulled himself together, he looked back at Gwen. He personally didn't care for her, but he just couldn't watch another death. At least for the night. He then stood up, wiped his face, then started to walk in the direction of the Revolutionary Army camp.

 **…**

The Deceiver looked up as Run came into his office, the latter being out of breath. The Deceiver put away a document he was looking over, and focused his attention on the Jaeger.

"Sir, we did as you asked." Run said.

"And the Night Raid member you met?"

Run shook his head. "We had successfully captured one, the one Lady Gwendolyn was interested in, but another caught us by surprise."

The Deceiver sat up in his chair. "Which one?"

"Akame, sir. She ambushed me as I was trying to watch for any others, and then proceeded to take out Lady Gwendolyn and Ms. Ubiquitous."

"In them not being here with you, am I right in assuming they're dead?"

"No sir, they and Hekatonkheires were knocked out by narcotic darts. Interestingly enough, they were left alive."

The Deceiver grinned. "So Jacobi's developed a soft spot? Perfect. Bring Xander to me, and send Lady Gwendolyn and Ms. Ubiquitous to me when they awake."

"Of course, sir." Run said as he bowed and then left.

The Deceiver brought Max Target into his field of vision. "No more child's play…"

 **…**

 **And that's that. Hope it was worthwhile, so let me know! Seriously, please review. Those little notes are way more impactful than you may think. See you guys next time!**


	11. Part 2: Chapter 1

**Alright, this story has already completed its first of three parts. Let part two BEGIN!**

 **…**

 _Akame stood across from Jacobi, looking him directly in the eye. It was the first time Akame agreed to spar with Jacobi, and Jacobi was eager to stop practicing the same attacks on a straw dummy. Akame gave Jacobi a questioning look and Jacobi nodded. As Akame started to move towards him, Jacobi gripped his wooden practice sword tightly with both hands. Just as he was taught._

 _Akame then lunged towards Jacobi and stabbed at him with her sword. Jacobi blocked the stroke and moved to attack her vulnerable side. Just as he was taught. Akame started to slash with a flurry of attacks, Jacobi barely blocking each attack. However, he didn't reciprocate the aggression: instead looking for an opening. Just as he was taught. Akame finally nicked him on one of his hands, causing pain to flare up in the afflicted hand. He adjusted his grip to put pressure on the wound and keep a strong grip on his sword. Just as he was taught._

 _However, as the spar kept on, Jacobi soon realized that he was the only one of them that was following the training given. Akame attacked wildly and unpredictably, almost willing her opponent to give in. Jacobi tried to keep to his limited training, fearing that any deviation would cause punishment, but he was quite frankly being beaten around. Akame practically danced around her opponent, keeping the pressure constant and unwavering. She launched a slash attack at Jacobi's right shoulder, and Jacobi moved to intercept the sword. He noticed too late, however, that the move was a feint. Akame changed her sword's direction fluidly and landed it on Jacobi's left foot. She hooked the sword behind Jacobi's foot and used it to execute a complicated maneuver that resulted in Jacobi's face in the dirt._

 _Jacobi looked up and saw Akame examining her finger nails, seemingly uninterested in the spar. Jacobi gritted his teeth. The arrogance of his teacher infuriated him, but he wouldn't give in. He looked around and saw the extra sword they had set aside in case one of the others broke. He got to his feet, and carefully backed up._

 _"You would've been dead if this was a real fight." Akame said, her voice deadpan._

 _"But it's not. So let's keep going."_

 _Akame shrugged and gripped her sword with both hands again. This time, however, Jacobi only held his sword with one hand. 'The techniques she taught me were too predictable. Even she knows that. So I guess I can't rely on them anymore.' Just as Jacobi finished his thought, Akame stabbed at Jacobi yet again. Jacobi expected it this time, and used his sword to deflect the sword upward. He then kicked Akame's feet out from under her. While Akame regained her feet, Jacobi rushed to grab the other sword. Holding one sword in each hand, he started attacking Akame. While his movements were clumsy at best, he managed to gain ground and eventually disarm his teacher. Jacobi breathed heavily, one sword having just hit Akame's sword out of her hand and the other sword pointed at her neck._

 _Jacobi lowered his swords, obviously exhausted. He dropped them and lowered himself to his knees. He looked up at his defeated opponent, and was surprised to see a smile gracing Akame's face. A real, genuine smile._

 _"Well done Jacobi. You've taken a step forward, but few people out in the world are going to take it easy on you as I did." Akame offered Jacobi a hand and helped him up. "Now we can start your real training." Before Jacobi realized what was happening, Akame had reclaimed her sword and aimed it at Jacobi's face. "Evade!"_

 **...**

Jacobi dodged under the incoming attack, and retaliated with his right sword. The attack was easily blocked, but Jacobi followed up with a swipe at his adversary's legs. The opponent jumped over it, and then swung at Jacobi's side. Such sword play was traded continuously, neither seeming to give ground, but Jacobi noticed a falter in the opponent's sword strokes. Jacobi waited for the right moment, a horizontal cut at his side, to execute his maneuver. Jacobi left his side open, hoping to bait the opponent into striking there. The opponent fell for the trap, and Jacobi easily blocked the slash. Jacobi then slammed his sword in a vertical strike at the opponent's sword, which forced the sword out of the adversary's hand. The man tried to reach for it, but Jacobi already had his swords at the man's throat.

The man raised his arms slowly, but then burst into a fit of laughter. Around the army camp, multiple people applauded at Jacobi's victory over yet another prestigious captain. Jacobi let out a chuckle, then sheathed his swords before shaking the captain's hand.

"Gotta say, Jacobi," the captain began. "You're incredibly skilled for a peasant's son."

Jacobi shook his head. "Upbringing has nothing to do with skill, but thanks."

The captain laughed again. "Of course. I'm sure wherever your old man is now, he's proud of you."

Jacobi's smile shrunk to a thoughtful grin. "Maybe so." Jacobi then shook the captain's hand and walked away. He adjusted the sleeves on his mended jacket, and the motion caused the scar on his back to flare faintly. It wasn't very painful, but the irritation reminded him of its presence. As Jacobi reached to rub his back, he noticed a set of red eyes focused on him. He looked back and saw Akame leaning against a tent post. She was barely noticeable within the rush of soldiers returning to their posts, but Jacobi had grown familiar with it over the past week. Ever since the episode with Gwen and Seryu, Akame had interacted little with him save for watching him from a distance.

Jacobi raised his hand in a wave, but Akame just turned and walked away. Jacobi's hand dropped, and he resumed his walk back to his tent. He threw himself onto his bed the moment he got there, and rubbed his eyes. He had finally been moved out of the hospital tent a few days ago, but refused when he was offered a tent among the captains. He instead settled for one among the infantry, which was small, but cozy.

As Jacobi rolled over, he saw a shadow cross over the tent opening's line of sunlight. "Nice tent you've got here," said a familiar voice.

Jacobi sat up and looked at Najenda, who was standing in the entrance to the tent.

"May I come in?" she asked. Jacobi nodded. She stepped inside and took a seat in his spare chair. She settled herself then looked to Jacobi. "How are you recovering?"

"Just fine." Jacobi responded. "My reflexes have never been better-"

"You know that's not what I meant." Najenda interjected. "How are you doing emotionally?"

Jacobi sighed. She was right: he knew exactly why she was there from the moment he heard her voice. "I honestly don't know."

"How so?" she asked.

"I feel content, but I also felt that when starting that mission last week. But that woman- Gwen- mentioned something that set me off. It brought up some bad memories."

Najenda nodded thoughtfully. "What memories did it bring up?" Jacobi thought about them, then winced. Najenda immediately realized her mistake and backed off. "I see. You don't have to tell me if you're uncomfortable with it."

Jacobi grinned sheepishly. "Thanks."

Najenda sighed. "It's not a problem, and to be completely honest, I've gotten used to it from you. However, these memories of yours seem to be impairing your judgement. In order to win this war, you might need to leave them behind." Jacobi thought about that, but remained silent. Najenda decided to continue to another topic. "I believe I have the first step in that process. There's a mission essential to us taking over some of the port cities: an assassination of a wealthy business owner. He controls the ships going back and forth from the port, but he's recently been growing desperate for help. It's to the point where he's been working people to death and enlisting child laborers. Some children have even died by his hand."

"Has he been confirmed guilty?" Jacobi asked.

"A thousand times." Najenda responded.

Jacobi set his jaw and looked Najenda in the eyes. "Then consider it done. Which city?"

"It's about five miles east from here. Should be a straight walk there and back."

Jacobi nodded. "I'll set out as soon as possible."

Najenda returned the gesture. "Alright. Because you've been out of action for a week, I'm sending Tatsumi with you. He will meet you outside of General Kota's tent." And with that, Najenda exited the tent.

Jacobi watched her leave and then sighed. _'She doesn't completely trust me anymore, but I can't really blame her. I'd do the same in her position. However, regaining that trust is gonna be a pain. Might as well start now.'_

 **…**

Jacobi walked down the road to the port city with Tatsumi right in front of him. Leaving the Revolutionary Army camp was the easy part, now the two assassins had to trek across the vast untamed wilds. Jacobi had tried to talk to Indra or Chelsea before leaving, but General Kota informed him that both of them had been sent on missions earlier in the day. There was a possibility that they wouldn't make it back for a few days, so there was no point in waiting for them.

Jacobi heard Tatsumi sigh, then shift the sword on his back. After Tatsumi's _Incursio_ was taken, he had reconciled with the old sword he had before joining the Night Raid ranks. While his skill with the blade seemed intact, he kept complaining that it wasn't quite as awesome as the Imperial Relic was.

"Aw, man! If only they had just left mine alone…" Tatsumi mused yet again.

Jacobi had heard Tatsumi say the same thing only twenty minutes ago, but he still decided to respond. "They were going to kill you. Be glad you escaped with your hide intact."

Tatsumi sniffed back tears. "But _Incursio_ was just so awesome!"

Jacobi returned his attention to the road ahead. Maybe a corrupted harbor master would distract Tatsumi from his dilemma.

As they walked, a salty smell eventually permeated the air. The sound of waves slowly became a backdrop to the regular forest music, and the presence of the ocean could almost be felt, even without seeing it. Jacobi began to fall behind a bit, his cardio endurance not quite fully recovered, but Tatsumi ran effortlessly around the next bend in the road. Tatsumi stopped dead in his tracks, amazed at the bustling port city in front of him. It seemed even busier than the capital, but that may have been attributed to the amount of soldiers mobilizing within the city.

Jacobi was paying more attention to the road than anything else, and nearly walked into the still assassin. He then looked out over the city as well. "The Empire must have figured out that this place would be a target. We'd better get some info on troop movement while we're here."

Tatsumi nodded silently and continued walking, still taking in the sight before him. Tatsumi and Jacobi pulled up their hoods, walked into the city and blended seamlessly into the crowd. Or so they thought.

Two hooded men looked at the assassins and nodded to each other. They then started to follow them into the crowd.

 **…**

Indra looked around at the bland scenery and the even blander messenger he was escorting. Apparently some troops were going to launch an attack or whatever, and this messenger was bringing some instruction-something-or-other to one of the generals leading the attack. Indra didn't know what they were attacking or even where they were going: he hadn't been able to pay attention much during the briefing. Who knew that a morning hangover could impair your concentration?

Of course, Indra didn't let on that he didn't completely understand, as he was playing the part of the "good soldier". He now regretted that, as he also didn't remember what dangers could be present during the escort. Of course, it couldn't be that bad if they only sent him, right?

Indra sighed, but then a scent flicked at his nose. "Stop," he commanded, pushing his arm in front of the messenger.

"Is there something wrong?" the messenger asked.

Indra sniffed at the air again, concentrating on it. He slowly picked up the fragrance of flowers… the grass around him… and the sickly sweet smell of dead animal flesh. He grabbed one of his bolts and loaded it into the crossbow. "Stay behind me." He warned as he started up the road again. They went a couple hundred feet before seeing a small cow standing in the middle of the road.

The messenger gave an annoyed look to Indra and tried to walk up to the cow. "You were worried about nothing. It's just a-"

"Stop where you are _right now_ or you _will_ die." Indra interrupted.

The messenger didn't seem deterred. "There is absolutely nothing to worry about-"

"Look at its eyes." Indra instructed.

The messenger still seemed to question Indra, but he decided to humor him. "What about them?"

The messenger then realized what Indra was talking about as Indra voiced his thoughts. "They aren't there." Indra pulled the suddenly willing messenger back as he decided to expound upon his suspicions. "And look at its sides. It looks as though it was cut to pieces and poorly stitched back together. It shouldn't even be alive." As Indra spoke, the cow shifted a little, bringing into sight some of its intestines hanging out of its side.

The messenger looked worriedly at Indra. "What does this mean? Is it a danger beast?"

Indra started to creep towards the cow. "Only one way to find out."

As Indra continued to get closer, the cow began to take notice of his presence. It turned its head towards Indra, then started eating a weed that was growing near it. It seemed to be willing Indra to come closer. Indra complied with its will, but also kept his crossbow ready. Indra finally got within fifty yards of the creature, and noticed that the dead flesh smell was exponentially stronger with every step.

Indra decided that thirty feet was more than close enough and stopped moving. The cow looked up the moment Indra stopped, its eyeless glare fixed on him. They stared each other down, each sizing up the other. As Indra continued to study the creature, looking for anything that would differentiate it from another cow, Indra noticed that no flies were around it. Even live cattle would usually be swarmed with flies. Realization crossed Indra's mind as the cow suddenly opened its mouth. The jaw and head then split evenly down the middle, creating four even sections.

"Crap!" Indra yelled. He jumped to the side as a long, barbed tongue shot out of the cow. It whipped towards him and wrapped around his leg. Indra grabbed his knife and cut it off, eliciting an otherworldly scream from the creature. Indra ignored the pain from the barbs still embedded in his skin and ran towards the messenger. "Run, it's a mimic!"

Indra looked back to see if the monster was following him, and saw all of the seams along the cow skin begin to tear apart. It rapidly revealed a large, monstrous being that definitely wasn't a cow. It stayed crouched on its four legs, with a barbed tail swinging erratically behind it. While the shape of its body resembled a wiry four legged monkey, its head resembled some carnivorous plant. It split four ways, with many sharp teeth lining each "jaw". Its tongue hung limp and bleeding, but it seemed unconcerned with it. No eyes could be located on the creature, but it still locked its attention on the fleeing Indra. It readied itself, then lunged forward.

Its jump covered an incredible distance quickly, and in merely two lunges had almost caught up to Indra. Indra slid on the ground just as the monster sailed over him, and shot a bolt into its underside. The Mimic landed and immediately turned around, launching its still long tongue at Indra. However, Indra was prepared for this and already had another bolt launched at the Mimic. The bolt sailed into the Mimic's tongue, cut through it, and continued on into its throat. With the monster stunned, Indra sent another bolt towards the monster's legs. It exploded mid-air to reveal a net, which snared its target. The Mimic fell to the ground, unable to move. Indra ran up to it with knife in hand, and before the monster could hit him with its tail, he cut off the Mimic's head.

As the monster lay lifeless, Indra took a deep breath. The messenger tentatively returned to Indra, visibly suspicious of everything around him. "How did you recognize what it was? If I were alone, then I'd be dead now."

Indra smiled humorlessly. "Even live cows have a lot of flies around them, with dead ones obviously having way more. However, Mimics secrete a strange fluid that scares off all insects within a mile. When I saw that no flies were feasting on the cow, I figured out what it was."

The messenger cautiously approached the Mimic's body and nudged it with his foot. "I thought Mimics only lived underground, in abandoned mine shafts and caves. I also heard that they could only impersonate inanimate objects."

Indra shook his head. "Different species than this one. This kind is a bit less well known because so few people survive the encounter. Some of my men encountered one a month ago though. They lost some good people, but eventually killed it and got some info on its anatomy. Apparently, it has evolved to impersonate any animal that it has killed before."

The messenger shook his head. "You're something else, sir."

Indra smiled. "Yep. Now let's keep going."

 **…**

Jacobi looked around the dock wordlessly. The evening air seemed to stick, the humidity causing Jacobi's clothes to hug his body. Very few people were in the vicinity, with sailors being the primary composition of the night population.

Jacobi looked to a single warehouse at the end of a pier, which was illuminated by the torches of the guards that patrolled it. He walked casually towards it, seemingly blending into the environment as yet another citizen. As he got close to the building, however, he pulled up his hood and hid behind a stack of crates.

Jacobi then started to monitor the movements of the guards, watching as they completed their rounds methodically. As soon as he felt he had a sense for their patterns, Jacobi made his move. He then quickly ran out from behind the crates, and hid against a corner of the building. If the previous rounds were anything to go by, then there would only be two guards this time.

Jacobi was right. The two guards walked past Jacobi, not noticing him until it was too late. Before either guard could react, their light was extinguished. Jacobi then walked away from the guards, both unconscious. He found a door leading into the warehouse, and quietly entered the interior.

The inside looked like any other warehouse, with boxes stacked neatly in rows, but a torch's light could be seen towards the back. Jacobi sneaked along the aisles, then climbed on top of a few boxes. In the torchlight, the figures of a man and a child could be seen inspecting some boxes. Voices floated through the room.

"These fish don't look to be salted properly, _boy_. Do you know why?" The voice seemed to be the man's.

The child shook his head. "N-no sir."

The man roughly grabbed the boy's face and shoved it into the fish. "Because it's spoiling! These were caught just the other day! Now tell me: from your experiences with fish, how long does a well-salted salmon usually take to spoil?"

The boy looked down. "A little less than a month, s-sir."

The man wiped his forehead with his palm. "Exactly. Now, do you _finally_ see where the problem is?" The boy nodded. "Good. Now go tell your little friends to do all of them over again. I want it finished by tomorrow."

"B-but sir! That's impossible! We'd have to work all night!" The boy exclaimed.

The man simply shrugged. "That sounds like a personal problem. If you idiots don't get done by the deadline, I'll have you all flogged publicly. Do you remember what happened to the last kid in your position?"

The boy nodded nervously.

"Good. We wouldn't want another bloodstain on these floors, would we? I'm starting to run low on you runts." The man then scratched his chin. "Although, maybe I could try hiring from a nearby town as well…"

As sickened as Jacobi was by this conversation, he couldn't do anything. Tatsumi hadn't given the signal that he was in position yet.

Just as Jacobi started to worry about Tatsumi, a glint of light caught Jacobi's eye. He looked up into the rafters, then returned his eyes to their target. He grabbed his mini-bow, loaded a dart on it, then aimed at the harbormaster.

The dart sailed through the air for but a second before burying the point into a vein on the harbormaster's arm. The paralyzing agent took hold almost immediately, and the harbormaster was frozen in place. Jacobi whistled a short, low note. He then looked up, where he saw Tatsumi jump from a rafter above the harbormaster, sword drawn. A second later, Tatsumi had landed on the ground. His sword was planted into the flooring, and the harbormaster's body fell in two halves.

Tatsumi then searched through the pockets of the harbormaster, and looked back at Jacobi. "He only had a pistol."

Jacobi sighed. "Good."

That was when Jacobi remembered the child. He was sitting on the floor, staring agape at the harbormaster's body. Jacobi knelt next to the boy, and patted his shoulder.

"That man won't be able to hurt you or anyone else anymore." The child nodded absently. Jacobi took that as a good thing, and helped the boy to his feet. "Get your friends and gather them at the North end of the dock. We have a small boat ready that you guys can use to escape."

The boy nodded again and started to run away. He then seemed to have second thoughts and turned back to Jacobi. "Thank you, M-Mister."

Jacobi smiled to the boy and waved him away. He then looked back to Tatsumi. "Ok, with him taken care of, we've got to now focus on getting information."

Tatsumi motioned for Jacobi to come closer. "I did find something interesting. The area we're currently in seems to be reserved for the fish. As you can see, nothing but standard fishing crates for these few rows." Jacobi acknowledged that he was following Tatsumi's reasoning so far. "However, it only covers a small portion of the warehouse. The rest is a grid of large barrels, and I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that they're not for fish."

Jacobi grinned at Tatsumi. "Let's take a look then, shall we?"

Tatsumi led him to the place where he was talking about. This time, the haphazard stacks of barrels contrasted starkly to the organized rows of crates. Jacobi walked up to the first barrel and opened its lid. A small amount of a dark, powdery substance spilled out as Jacobi looked at the contents. "Gunpowder."

"We've got weapons over here!" Tatsumi called from another stack of barrels. "And a whole bunch of them."

Jacobi cracked open another barrel in the stack to see more gunpowder. As he tried to figure out just how much could be in the warehouse, he heard Tatsumi running over with a piece of paper in his arms.

"They've got some diagrams here that I couldn't make sense of." He said.

Jacobi took the paper and looked at the drawings. They seemed to resemble some kind of large gun, but the dimensions were too large for just one person to operate. In fact, a footnote to the side said that it'd require an entire team. "Son of a gun…" Jacobi whispered. "They're developing weapons. They know that we're coming for war, and they're preparing. We've got to get these plans to General Kota." Jacobi then looked at Tatsumi. "See how many more of these we can find in five minutes, then we've got to get out of here."

As Tatsumi started to look through more barrels, Jacobi looked at the diagram again. This war they were starting might prove to be much longer than they expected.

 **…**

Chelsea watched as two guards bypassed her position. She then scuttled along the corridors in the military barracks, heading towards the commander's quarters. She had been tasked with eliminating this specific officer as he coordinated the efforts of a large amount of soldiers. It also seemed that he was responsible for disrupting communications between several Revolutionary Army scouts, so it was decided that he had to go. However, for someone with such high importance, it seemed he had very few guards. Chelsea counted only about forty soldiers altogether in the barracks.

Despite the low amount of threats, Chelsea decided to err on the side of caution and draw as little attention as possible. Her solution: become one of the millions of cockroaches crawling through the barracks. So she scuttled, occasionally using her wings to go a bit further, but any excessive use would draw too much attention. It was a shame that the barracks didn't have a moth infestation instead. If that were the case, then she'd be able to at least fly consistently.

After a couple hours of moving along the walls, Chelsea finally reached a wooden door with an officer's symbol engraved into it. She crawled into the crack between the door and the flooring, getting into the large room with ease. Chelsea was surprised to not see any lavish decorations around the room, but instead a simplistic style. The plain coffee table, bed and desk all reflected in the bald man lying asleep on the bed.

Chelsea reverted to her human form, and she grabbed one of her poison needles from within Gaea Foundation. She then walked quietly up to the Commander, turned his head a little to the side to expose the back of his neck, and stabbed him. Satisfied that her job was done, Chelsea started to look around the room for any information. On the desk she found an open letter that was addressed to the Commander.

 _"Commander Sao,_

 _We have received intelligence of where the Rebels have set up camp and are currently mobilizing troops to eliminate them. General Esdeath requests that your best troops join her in the town of…"_

Chelsea stopped reading the paper and pushed it into a pocket in her skirt. She had to get this information to Najenda as soon as she could. Chelsea decided to risk being a mosquito and flew out the room, and eventually the base.

 **…**

Indra looked at the makeshift camp created by the soldiers. People bustled around continuously, carrying weapons and whatnot where they were needed. Indra dodged around two men carrying a large weapons crate as he continued to follow the messenger to the Captain's tent. They found it, and entered through a tent flap. As they walked in, they were immediately greeted by a female shouting orders. Several soldiers stood in front of her, all of them trying to remain motionless. Curiously, they were also making sure to look at her eyes and nothing else.

"…we need more weapons and armor at the armory tent, and we need every man prepared for attack! Get the ladders and the ropes ready! If I see any soldier just sitting around, then I will hold you all responsible for not conveying the message! Now get going!" They all nodded in acknowledgement and nearly ran out of the tent, practically scrambling over each other.

Indra took a closer look at the Captain, and grinned. "Major Shauna?!"

The Captain groaned before turning around. "Indra, I swear…" She then turned around and glanced at him. "And it's _Captain Shauna_ now, I got a promotion." Shauna then looked to the messenger. "What do you have for me?"

The messenger took out an envelope and handed it to her. "Instructions directly from General Kota: your eyes only."

Shauna opened the envelope and turned away from the two men as she read the contents. When she was finished, she swore under her breath.

"Is there a problem with your letter?" The messenger asked.

Shauna shook her head. "You are dismissed, thank you." Indra moved to follow the messenger out, but was stopped. "Wait, Indra. I need you for something."

Indra wasn't sure what she might need, but stayed anyways. Shauna then motioned for Indra to follow her out of the tent and to an outlook. "General Kota said in his message to attack the town today, at nightfall. Said it was a small victory that could be used as a sort of announcement that will start the war."

Indra nodded. "That sounds simple enough. So what's the problem?"

Shauna gestured towards the village, but it was nearly unrecognizable. A massive amount of soldiers crawled along the ground, the distance making them look like ants on a hill. Fortifications were set up all around the town, as well as a high wall of ice.

"They knew we were coming." Shauna sighed. "This all happened over night, so it's been theorized that Esdeath's still in the town. I was given a lot of soldiers for this mission: enough to give the illusion that we came from everywhere. But I don't think that we can stand up to Esdeath."

Indra continued to watch as the soldiers mounted something resembling a ballista on the ice wall. "It'll be more of a siege than a simple take-over at this point." Indra then noticed something. "Wait, why did Esdeath go to the trouble of building a wall when she could've just came here and taken out the entire camp? Do they know we're here?"

Shauna nodded. "They've been preparing in our general direction, at least."

"From what I've heard of her, Esdeath doesn't like to wait around for her opponent to attack. I believe Esdeath may not have finished us off because she couldn't stay here too long."

"Or because she thought we weren't worth the effort…" Shauna mused. "But if you're right, then we may have a fighting chance. We just need to get over that wall."

Indra indicated in the direction of a few more soldiers carrying ladders. "I'm guessing that's why you're preparing those?"

"They're the first things I came up with in limited time. Ladders and some ropes with grappling hooks, but I'm worried that a lot of our soldiers won't be able to climb with just the rope if they're weighed down by armor."

Indra grinned. "Keep at least one rope then. If you can get those ladders to the wall and mounted, then I'll make sure they stay up."

 **…**

Jacobi walked along the path on the return trip with Tatsumi following close behind him. As they continued on, a shadow moved into position in a bush on the side of the road. It watched as they walked along, then moved to the next bush. A similar action repeated on the opposite side of the road, with the second shadow being just as unnoticeable as the first one. This pattern continued late into the night, with only the full moon as witness.

 **…**

 **Ok, I guess you can think of this as a second season or something. At least I didn't pull an AOT and make you guys wait three years. I'll see when I can get to Chapter 12. Until then, peace.**


	12. Part 2: Chapter 2

**…**

 _Jacobi looked around as the familiar forest trail flew by. He barely had time to take in everything because the scenery changed so fast. Jacobi looked to see a squirrel climbing a tree, but a blonde lock of hair blocked his vision. Jacobi brushed the lock out of his eyes and focused on the culprit of his ruined forest observation. The same blonde girl from before pulled him along, excitedly taking him somewhere. She seemed very eager to get there, and didn't even look back at the slightly disgruntled boy._

 _"Jaaacobiii…" she whined when she felt some resistance. "Come on! My father will kill us both if I don't get home soon." She then giggled, renewing her efforts to bring Jacobi along._

 _Oh. That's where they were going. Jacobi then gained a mischievous smile and took the lead, dragging the girl behind him. The girl just laughed and tried to keep up with Jacobi's longer strides. Within a few minutes, they had reached their home town. They passed by the familiar houses before finally arriving at their goal. They both gasped for breath as the girl took the lead and opened the door._

 _"Dad! I'm home like you asked!" she shouted as she plopped down on the first chair she saw._

 _Jacobi decided to keep standing as the girl's father walked into the room. He was almost twice as tall as Jacobi, and he looked down on the two teenagers. He frowned and motioned for Jacobi to come closer. Jacobi swallowed his fear and approached the man. The man then clapped Jacobi on the shoulders and lightly shook him._

 _"You followed my instructions perfectly, boy."_

 _Jacobi nodded his head furiously. "Yes sir!"_

 _"You brought my daughter back unharmed."_

 _"Of course, sir!"_

 _The man looked intensely into Jacobi's eyes, trying to find any weakness. However, he couldn't keep up the façade. A small smile tore at his lips, and eventually grew until it consumed his face. The man burst out laughing and embraced Jacobi tightly. "You've grown up! You're finally becoming a man." The man then pulled back until Jacobi was at arm's length. "And we both know what that means for you and my daughter…"_

 _Jacobi glanced nervously at the girl, who had her own nervous blush plastered on her face. This caused the man to laugh all the harder. He then pulled Jacobi into another hug. He started to whisper in Jacobi's ear. "Just keep bringing her home. Do that, and we won't have a single problem: you and me. Alright?"_

 _Jacobi looked back at the beautiful girl sitting in the chair and put on a look of determination. "You can count on me. I promise."_

 _The man gave a look that was equally serious. "I'm gonna hold you to that." Then they both started laughing, a carefree air falling over the household._

 _But their fate was sealed. Jacobi promised._

 **…**

A pat on the shoulder from Tatsumi woke Jacobi from his daydream. "Hey, we're almost to the camp. You might wanna at least try to look like we did well."

Jacobi yawned and tried to follow Tatsumi's advice. The young assassin was right: they had paved the way for a conquest, and had even discovered blueprints for weapons that would've taken them by surprise otherwise. With Tatsumi and Jacobi's success came a possibility for greatly reduced casualties.

Jacobi managed a slight grin as the gates to the camp came into view, standing out against the grassy landscape. As the two Night Raid members entered the camp, they noticed that everyone was running around. Jacobi guessed that General Kota had finally started the war. The soldiers were preparing mentally and physically for the battles to come. Jacobi and Tatsumi soon located the command tent and walked in to a discussion between Kota and Najenda.

"We need to secure the highland roads so that we will have a more defendable route when we're approaching the capital…" Kota said, gesturing to a mountainous region of the map.

"But the sooner we acquire the river-side cities, the sooner we can start moving troops en masse to our next targets." Najenda pointed out. She saw the two returning assassins and redirected her attention. "Tatsumi, Jacobi, how did it go?"

Tatsumi chuckled. "It was too easy! Even without _Incursio_ that guy was a pushover."

Jacobi took out the plans they had discovered. "We discovered these in the Harbor Master's warehouse, along with a lot of weapons and war supplies. They must have gotten wind of the invasion."

Najenda looked over the diagram. "It looks like some kind of giant gun… but it doesn't list what ammunition it uses." Najenda set the diagram to the side. "Do you know if they have completed construction of it?"

"They didn't have any more information about it," Jacobi responded. "But my guess would have to be no. The plans had a list of certain materials they needed, including the body parts of some powerful danger beasts."

"So they're probably still on the hunt." Najenda finished. "I'll ask one of our technology experts to take a closer look at these and see if we can find a weakness." Najenda looked gratefully at Jacobi. "You've done us a great service. Well done." She then nodded towards Tatsumi. "Both of you."

Tatsumi seemed to be soaking in the compliment when Chelsea burst into the tent, breathless. She walked over to General Kota and handed him a letter. "This letter was in the possession of the Imperial Officer that I assassinated. It details a request for reinforcements."

General Kota's eyes widened as he read the letter. "Esdeath is at Forks."

Najenda matched General Kota's concern. "All of those soldiers…"

Tatsumi glanced at the people gathered. "Am I missing something?"

Najenda decided to inform Tatsumi of their operation. "Forks is a small town at the edge of Imperial territory. In my time in the Imperial Army, we always considered its problems trivial and posted minimal soldiers there. Kota and I had decided that taking over the town would be a simple display of force. It would also serve as an announcement of our official Revolution."

Tatsumi finally realized the gravity of the situation. "And if Esdeath is there, then our "show of force" will be history."

Kota set the letter on the table. "Minister Honest is obviously saying that he won't willingly give up an inch of territory."

"And any faith we may have gained from the people will be lost." Najenda finished. She then pointed to Jacobi and Chelsea. "You two need to go to Forks immediately. See if you can delay the attack until Akame can get there. She may be the only hope we have against Esdeath."

"And if we're too late?" Chelsea questioned.

Najenda lit a cigarette. "Then start praying."

 **…**

The setting sun gave an eerie glow to the surrounding forest as the Revolutionary forces approached their target. Indra looked cheerlessly at all of the soldiers around him. Many of them had been hesitant before, but they all regained their courage when Major Shauna told them that Esdeath was most likely not guarding the town. What Shauna hadn't told her soldiers was that they were almost certain that some Jaegers were present.

Indra watched as all of the brave faces walked on, possibly to their deaths. _'So this is what it feels like to have the power over life and death…'_ He thought. Indra then remembered his part in the plan, and broke away from the marching lines. He ran among the trees, trying to keep an even distance to the ice wall. He watched as most of the Imperial soldiers lining the wall moved to counter the incoming Revolutionaries, but Indra could still see the shining armor of the ones that remained.

Indra cursed and got ready to move. His job was to use a rope to quickly climb the wall, and take care of the soldiers on the wall until the soldiers could climb the ladders. Indra had hoped the Imperials' defensive positions would leave only a few soldiers in his sector of the wall, but at least thirty remained where they were. Indra would have to come through with the hand he was dealt. Indra checked to make sure the rope was firmly tied to his crossbow bolt, and that the crossbow itself was still in good shape. He watched as the Revolutionary soldiers got closer and closer to the wall, their shields in constant use against arrow barrages.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Indra took off running. He reached a good distance and shot the bolt towards the top of the wall. It lodged deep into the ice, a few feet from the top. Indra watched as the rope unraveled as it went farther, and then stopped with the bolt. Indra ran to the ice wall and ran up it as far as he could. Indra got three steps in before he felt gravity take hold, and then grabbed tightly onto the rope. He hoisted himself up, and started climbing.

Indra watched as the soldiers tried to cut the rope with their swords, but it was too far beyond their reach. It took Indra a minute, but he finally reached his bolt. The soldiers started aiming for him, one getting pretty close. Indra simply reached up to grab the sword handle and dragged it down. The soldier fell off the wall, but Indra held tightly to the sword. Indra swung the sword behind him, and then stabbed it as hard as he could into the wall. Seeing that the sword was lodged nicely, Indra transferred his weight to it. He then jumped and grabbed onto the edge of the wall. He would've slipped and fell, but his knife saved him.

One of the soldiers tried to attack Indra while he was vulnerable, and swung his sword at Indra's hand. A flick of Indra's wrist sent the knife flying into the soldier's throat, and Indra took his opportunity to climb fully onto the wall. He looked down disdainfully as he saw the crumpled body of the soldier he had just killed.

"You think the knife survived the fall?" he mused to himself. He wasn't able to find out, as another soldier decided to attack him. Indra dodged under the sword stroke, and stabbed the soldier with a bolt. As the soldier fell dead, a loud sound of metallic clicking could be heard. The ballista mounted on the wall was rotating, with the operators aiming it towards the incoming soldiers.

A single shout of "Fire!" filled the air, and the ballista launched one large steel bolt. It sailed through the air, and hit right in the center of one of the formations. Their aim was true: the ladder was completely destroyed. Indra watched as the ballista was being reloaded. If any of the ladders were going to make it to the walls, then that ballista would need to go.

 **…**

Jacobi and Chelsea finally reached the advance camp. One look confirmed their worst fears. The camp was empty, and the sounds of battle could be heard in the distance. Chelsea rushed to look over the outlook, and she gestured to Jacobi. The glint of armor could be seen reflected in the moonlight as thousands of soldiers struggled for control of the town.

"So," Chelsea remarked. "Do we start praying?"

Jacobi squinted. "We may not have to." Jacobi gave a questioning glance to Chelsea. "If Esdeath was in the fight… wouldn't it have ended by now?"

Chelsea tried to follow Jacobi's reasoning. "Our forces shouldn't have lasted this long, so…" Chelsea and Jacobi shared a relieved smile.

"We can still win this." Jacobi sighed.

Chelsea started to head towards the battle. "We've got to find the commanding officer. Come on!"

Jacobi followed after her as they entered the moonlit woods.

 **…**

Shauna watched from the back of her forces, observing the battle. She wanted nothing more than to join her subordinates and risk her own life, but such was the duties of a Captain. At least her plans seemed to be coming together. A ballista was causing problems at first, and even took out a couple of the ladders before "mysteriously" exploding. With the ballista out of the way, the ladders got mounted and troops were scaling the wall as she watched.

"Captain!" shouted one of Shauna's guards. "We've received some reinforcements!"

Shauna looked back at the guard in astonishment. "This quickly? How many are there?"

"Just two ma'am, but they're Night Raid."

Shauna sighed audibly. "Bring them to me." A minute later, Jacobi and Chelsea stood in front of the captain. "Thank you for coming," Shauna said. "We may need your abilities soon."

Jacobi nodded. "We came here under the impression that Esdeath was defending the town, but I'm guessing our information is outdated."

Shauna laughed humorlessly. "Oh, she was here alright. She's the reason that we've had to come up with siege tools."

Chelsea twirled her lollipop in her mouth. "It's interesting that Esdeath gave them such a huge wall, yet they haven't armed it with a catapult or something."

"Funny you should say that…" Shauna said. "They had a ballista. It took out a few of our ladders before Indra destroyed it."

Jacobi perked up. "Indra?"

Shauna nodded. "He flanked alone to the left so that we'd have someone keeping our ladders mounted. We would have sent more, but Indra is the only one we have with that skill set."

Jacobi nodded in understanding. "I see."

Chelsea patted him on the back. "He's fine, if results are anything to go by."

Shauna then pointed towards a bright flash of light that was quickly followed by an explosion. "We've got Jaegers. Jacobi, Chelsea-"

They were already gone. The two ran into the mass of soldiers, some holding shields and others just trying to get to the ladders. The assassins weaved through the crowd expertly and then climbed the ladders quickly. Jacobi had to dodge under a sword the moment he got to the top, and simply kicked the offender off the wall.

Jacobi drew his swords and jumped into the chaos of people trying to control the wall. He saw Chelsea do the same, flowing around enemy soldiers and using her needles to devastate any who caught her attention.

As Jacobi fought his way through the mass of soldiers, he saw a familiar face fighting to keep a ladder mounted. Indra shot a crossbow bolt into a soldier close to him, kicked the feet out from another soldier, retrieved his bolt from the one soldier and stabbed the fallen soldier with it. Indra looked up and smiled when he saw Jacobi.

"So you made it to the party!" he shouted as he ducked under another attack.

Jacobi stepped in and stabbed Indra's attacker in the chest. "I even brought a friend."

As he spoke, Chelsea appeared from behind an enemy soldier. She simply stabbed him in his "kill spot" with her needle and the soldier dropped dead. "If you don't mind, _boys_ , we've got more important problems than an analogy."

Indra pointed along the wall. "Is that giant dog considered one of those 'problems'?"

The giant dog Indra spoke of was killing soldiers indiscriminately. Imperials, Revolutionaries, they all disappeared into its gaping mouth. The lucky ones managed to jump off the wall before it got to them. Atop the giant dog stood none other than Seryu Ubiquitous, who was screaming maniacally. She had her arms set to the missile launchers, and shot them down into the Revolutionaries.

"Justice rains from above!" Seryu screamed, and then resumed her laughter. "All of your evil shall perish! All of it!"

Jacobi gestured towards Seryu. "I'll take care of her."

Indra glanced at the giant dog, and then glanced at slightly-above-average-height Jacobi. He then shrugged. "Your funeral, man."

Chelsea just nodded and started running down the opposite direction of the wall. "We'll see if any more Jaegers are hiding in the mix!"

Jacobi watched as Chelsea and Indra disappeared into the crowd, and then turned to face his adversary. He watched as the dog came closer to him, then pulled out his mini-bow. He loaded a sleep dart on it and fired quickly into the dog's open mouth. Five seconds later, the dog stopped in its tracks and started to tip sideways. Seryu jumped off of him just in time to save herself, but couldn't stop the dog from rolling off of the wall. It landed with an audible "thump" and then started snoring.

Seryu's eyes became bloodshot. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY-" Seryu stopped when she saw just who stood in her way. Her voice immediately lost its angry tone, but instead picked up a predatory hint. "Well, if it isn't Jacobi. How _nice_ to see you again." Seryu looked around her dramatically. "It doesn't look like Ms. Gwen is here right now… so there's no one to stop me from separating your head from your evil body!"

Jacobi raised an eyebrow. "Just try me, cur."

 **...**

Indra shot a crossbow bolt at a soldier who was rushing him, and kicked the body back towards the friends who were following behind. "Chelsea! Have you located the other Jaeger?"

Chelsea's voice floated over from the next section of the wall. "I'm not sure, but somebody's putting a hole through our forces. It seems that they're heading our way."

Indra looked and saw _something_ running along the wall, causing soldiers from both sides to go flying. As Indra watched, what looked like a suit of armor came to a screeching halt. As Indra confirmed that it was, indeed, an armored man, the helmet swiveled to look directly at Indra.

A gravelly voice sounded out from behind the helmet. "Archer, you've been the cause of much stress among my comrades. Your sabotage ends now."

Indra loaded his crossbow and aimed it at the man. "Now, that's no way to talk to a new friend."

The man laughed. "You think your pitiful _arrows_ can do anything against this armor? _Incursio_ has endured against far worse."

Chelsea chose that moment to jump next to Indra. "He's right. That's an Imperial Arms known for its defensive strength. Your bolts can't even scratch it."

Indra adjusted his grip. "All armor has a chink, right?"

The man drew his sword, and began to charge. They were able to evade the attack, but the sword came close to hitting Indra. The man then turned to follow through with another strike. Indra tried to use his crossbow to block, but was thrown back several feet. Chelsea took her opening and transformed into a large lion. The man turned around and barely put his sword up in time to fend off Chelsea's lunge. The sword was the only thing preventing Chelsea from sinking her teeth into _Incursio_ , and it soon became a contest of strength. While Chelsea would have easily overpowered any other man, the Imperial Arms was proving to be too much for her. The man dug his boots into the wall beneath him and pushed back furiously. Chelsea couldn't get her claws into the ice, and began to slide.

Chelsea tried to regain her footing, but couldn't stop moving once she started. The man kept pushing until they were at the edge, him obviously trying to push Chelsea off. Indra decided that now was the time to intervene.

"Hey, tin can! Block this!" Indra shot the crossbow. The man turned to see what Indra was going to do, and saw the bolt fly at him. The bolt never hit the man, but it did explode in his face. The man released his grip on Chelsea, clutching at his helmet.

Chelsea ran back over by Indra. "Thanks for the help, but what'd you do?"

"My bolts may not be able to penetrate his armor, but he's got to see somehow. The exploding bolt blinded him, although I doubt it did any real damage." As Indra spoke, an explosion sounded from the other side of the wall. As Indra looked, he saw Seryu pursuing Jacobi with a passion. "Well, he's clearly got her under control."

Chelsea squinted. "What could have possibly gotten her into such a rage?"

The question went unanswered as the man in _Incursio_ seemed to have gotten his bearings.

"Crap, we missed our chance," Indra said. "Come on!" He readied another specialty bolt and aimed it.

 **…**

Jacobi dodged as Seryu launched another missile at Jacobi. _'Jeeze, does she ever run out?'_

Seryu charged Jacobi and punched him in the gut. Jacobi flew through the air several feet before stopping. He tasted something metallic and spat out blood. Jacobi wiped his mouth and stood up. He raised his swords and readied himself again.

Seryu fumed, aiming her missile launcher at Jacobi again. "Fire!" she yelled, but nothing shot out.

"It seems that you've finally used all of your ammo." Jacobi said. "I guess you also used all of your luck."

Seryu grabbed her missile launcher arm, and ripped it off. She then clenched her hand. "I could destroy you with a toothpick."

Jacobi ran at Seryu and stabbed at her abdomen. Seryu used her metal arm and deflected the attack. Expecting this, Jacobi swung with his other sword at her neck, but Seryu leaned back and barely dodged. Jacobi swung both of his swords inwards, but Seryu ducked in close to Jacobi. She punched Jacobi consecutively in the gut, chest, and finished with an uppercut. Jacobi staggered back, trying to regain his balance. However, Seryu took her opening and kicked him back. Jacobi tried to get up, but Seryu put her foot on his chest.

Seryu looked at her prey, panting heavily. She saw Jacobi trying to grab his swords, and kicked them away. "Oh no, your evil ends here." Seryu winded up her punch and smiled cruelly. "I'm gonna enjoy this…"

Seryu threw her punch, but just before the metal fist could connect, Jacobi moved his head to the side. Seryu ended up punching the ice beneath. As Seryu processed what happened, Jacobi grabbed Seryu and pulled her close. He flicked out his hidden blades, stabbing them into Seryu's sides. He kicked her away and picked himself up.

Seryu threw herself at Jacobi, her mind whirling. She tried to punch, but Jacobi intercepted her arm. He let her momentum carry her along, cutting her side again and elbowing her in the back of the head as she passed. Seryu tried punching again, but Jacobi deflected her arm away. He grabbed her by the back of the head and brought it to his knee, but it seemed metal was in her head as well. Jacobi recoiled, already feeling his knee start to bruise. He backed away a few steps, looking at his adversary warily.

Seryu stepped back herself, having severely misjudged the ability of her opponent. It seemed that he could hold his own quite well, taking his chances whenever he could. Seryu hadn't faced someone so equally matched since she fought Sheele of Night Raid. She would have lost to the scissor-wielding girl if it wasn't for Koro…

Jacobi took a step forward. Seryu raised her arm in defense, but Jacobi motioned that he wasn't attacking. Seryu was confused, but curious as to what he could want. Maybe he was giving up.

Jacobi decided to talk before the girl went back into a murderous rage. "Seryu, why do you fight?"

The question caught the girl off guard. "To fight evil like you, of course!"

Jacobi nodded. "Understandable. I've killed people, so you may be my divine retribution. However," Jacobi gestured to the soldiers that were still trying to climb up the ladders. "Why are you killing them?"

Seryu gritted her teeth, not understanding what he was getting at. "They betrayed the emperor; they're traitors and just as evil as you!"

"Not so. Most of them are commoners just trying to buy a future for their families. Despite their differences, they do all have one thing in common." Jacobi pointed an accusing finger at Seryu. "They've all lost something dear because of the emperor you pledge allegiance to!"

Seryu laughed. "They're peasants, why should the emperor care? They can deal with their own problems. But they chose the wrong side, so now they're all going to die in their evil deeds!" Seryu's voice rose in pitch as she spoke, a demonic look taking over her facial features.

Jacobi sighed. "Tatsumi told me that you were a nice person when he first met you. You seemed caring, and kind…" Jacobi looked hard at the _creature_ before him. "I had hoped that some part of you was redeemable. I see now that it was just a foolish hope." Jacobi lunged for his swords, grabbing them just before Seryu could smash them to pieces.

Jacobi brought the swords up and crossed them in front of him just as Seryu attacked again, blocking her arm. He then started to follow up with his own attack, but an angry roar at the base of the wall stopped him.

Seryu's eyes lit up. "Koro!" She then ran to the edge of the wall and jumped down. A few seconds later, she came back up, standing on the head of the giant dog. She jumped down and held out her stump of an arm. "Koro, number three!" The dog complied, closing its mouth around where Seryu's arm would have been. When it removed its mouth, a large sword appeared. Seryu grinned evilly as Jacobi realized that he couldn't defeat them both.

Jacobi reached for another sleep dart, but there were none. He mentally sorted through his other dart types, but none of them would help in this situation. Jacobi instead did the only thing he could do: run towards Chelsea and Indra.

He slid along the ice as Koro swung at him, but the it was more slippery than he anticipated, causing Jacobi to nearly go over the edge. He just barely regained his footing to keep running, and finally Indra and Chelsea appeared in his line of sight. Jacobi did a double-take, and then slid in to deflect an attack that was coming towards Indra. The armored man stepped back in surprise, now seeing three adversaries.

"Incoming!" Jacobi yelled as he saw Seryu and Koro running towards them.

Indra glanced towards Jacobi and Chelsea. "Are we switching?"

Chelsea looked at Koro, and started to transform into an exact copy of it. "Good luck, Jacobi."

Jacobi nodded. "Likewise." Jacobi then readied himself to fight his new opponent, but the armored man seemed to be in shock.

The man looked to Jacobi, his helmet preventing Jacobi from seeing any facial features. "…Jacobi?"

Jacobi frowned. "Yes?" The man then brought his arms to his head and lifted off the helmet. Jacobi knew who he was the moment he saw the grey hair and piercing eyes. Jacobi stood astonished, looking at the man he had always presumed dead. "Roman?"

The man gave a grim smile. "It's been seven years, boy."

"I thought you were dead…"

"And I hoped you were dead. It would have spared me from seeing you again after what you did. To me, to my family…"

Jacobi shook his head. "You must know by now that it wasn't my fault!"

Roman lost his smile. "Not entirely, no. But you still had a big part in it." He then raised his sword and aimed it towards Jacobi. "Now, let's see if you're still the same boy from long ago."

Jacobi raised his swords as well. "I don't want to fight you, Roman."

Roman sneered. "I don't care." He then lifted his sword with both hands, bringing it down on Jacobi's head.

Jacobi dodged to the side, slashing at Roman's sides. However, Roman had already moved his sword to block the stroke. Jacobi swung his other sword around, but Roman caught it with his armored hand. Roman then head-butted Jacobi, knocking him on his back. Roman followed through with another over-head swing, but Jacobi barely blocked with his swords. It required all of Jacobi's strength to hold off the sword, but Roman wasn't even breaking a sweat. Jacobi tried to kick Roman's feet out, but his foot bounced off _Incursio_ harmlessly.

Roman laughed. "Such an under-handed trick won't help you now, boy."

Jacobi grunted as the pressure caused him to lower his swords a bit. He then got an idea, and let go of one of his swords. Roman didn't expect it and his sword naturally started to slide to the side. Jacobi grabbed his remaining sword with both hands and put all of his strength into pushing with it. Roman's sword slid over, and it was simple for Jacobi to roll away and let the sword smash into the ice beneath.

Jacobi realized he had parted himself from his other sword, but he figured that his life was currently higher on the priorities. Roman pried his sword from the ice as he processed what just transpired.

Jacobi watched as Roman regained his bearings. "Roman, if we continue like this, then the only outcome is one of us killing the other."

"I'm counting on it." Roman then charged, the short distance allowing him to pin Jacobi. He grabbed the wrist holding Jacobi's sword and slashed across it. Jacobi cried out as he lost his ability to hold his sword, the weapon clattering to the ground. Roman, finding his opponent unarmed, swung his sword at Jacobi one last time. However, instead of the expected sound of tearing flesh, Roman instead got the sound of fracturing metal.

Jacobi looked astonished at the shards of his hidden blades, now lying in front of him. While Jacobi had managed to block the incoming attack, his last line of defense was now broken. Jacobi jumped up and grabbed his swords, using his bought time to the best of his ability. Jacobi held on easily to the sword in his right hand, but his left hand grip was impaired by the wound to his wrist. As he tried to adjust his left grip, he found that blood was starting to further loosen his hold on the weapon.

Roman wiped a bead of sweat off of his brow, glaring at Jacobi. He raised his sword as he launched another charge. "Why can't you just die?!"

Jacobi looked at the armored man approaching, realizing that there was no hope for negotiation. He easily dodged the attack, and swiped at the side of _Incursio_. It barely dented the armor, but Roman was quickly going into a rage. "Sit still, boy! I'm going to rip your head off! Feed your body to dogs! Throw your remains off of a cliff!" Roman punctuated each sentence with a swing, but Jacobi expertly maneuvered around them.

Roman finally managed to lock his swords with Jacobi again, but he recoiled at the sight of Jacobi's eyes. What once might have offered negotiation now held no understanding, no niceties, and definitely no mercy. Jacobi pushed himself out of the sword lock and immediately prepared for another attack. Roman had made his choice, so Jacobi made his.

 **…**

Chelsea grappled with Koro, their identical bodies displaying a similar strength. However, despite Gaea Foundation's abilities, it couldn't reproduce the Teigu's regeneration. Chelsea would have to make sure she was more careful.

As Koro and she stumbled along the wall, Chelsea saw Indra shoot an exploding crossbow bolt at Seryu. The blast knocked the girl off the wall towards the town, and her efforts to control her landing were accentuated by gunshots. Indra shot a bolt into the ice, tied a rope to it, and slid down the rope.

Chelsea saw Koro divert his attention to his fallen master. She decided to take her chance and pushed Koro off the side of the wall. It was a short fall, but any impact Chelsea might have felt was absorbed by the giant dog beneath her. Chelsea then picked up the dog, and threw it several feet away.

Indra ran over, and motioned for Chelsea to become human again. "I don't know how much longer I can hold her off."

"It would be easier without the mutt." Chelsea said, watching as Koro slowly picked itself up. "Without it, Seryu won't stand a chance."

Indra snorted. "That's every Imperial Arms user in a nutshell, including you."

Chelsea ignored Indra as she scanned the surrounding area. "I may have an idea, but you'll need to be ready to take advantage of the first opening."

"Can you at least give me an idea of what you're planning?"

Chelsea smiled and twirled her lollipop. "A weapon can't do anything without its owner."

Indra deadpanned as he realized that that should've been their plan from the start. He started to climb up the side of a nearby house as Chelsea walked directly towards Koro. With a wave of her Gaea Foundation, Chelsea's physique was quickly transformed into Seryu.

Koro finally lifted itself, and jumped for joy when it saw that its master was ok. It shrank to its smaller form, jumping happily into Seryu's arms. Seryu hugged back, but quickly set Koro on the ground.

"We've gotta keep our guard up! They could be anywhere, and we'll have to smite them. For justice!"

Koro nodded eagerly and started to sniff around, but a loud noise confused him.

"Koro! Where are you?" A voice that sounded exactly like his master's yelled out from the wreckage of a collapsed building. It was strained, as if she had almost exhausted her vocal cords. The source of the voice then walked out from the wreckage.

Seryu, Koro and Seryu looked at each other, all of them confused. The silence was broken by the first Seryu gasping. "Night Raid has impersonated me! They will not get away with such evil! Koro, attack her!"

The second Seryu gave an indignant snarl. "How dare you! You Night Raid scum are trying to turn my Koro to the ways of evil! I won't stand for it!"

Koro looked between the two, its little mind unable to handle the confusion. However, the first Seryu started to aggressively approach the second one.

"I will wipe you out in the name of justice! None of your evil ways shall stain my friend!"

The second Seryu started to walk towards Koro. "Koro! I'm your real friend! Seryu!"

Koro started to whine, looking desperately between the two and trying to decide which one was the real one.

As the argument went on, Indra lined up his shot and waited for the right moment. He then fired, the bolt sailing through the air towards the first Seryu. Koro tried to curl up and get away from all the confusion, but the snap of a bow string alerted it to approaching danger. Its instincts took over, and it threw itself in front of the first Seryu.

The argument between the Seryu's froze, and both of them looked to the bolt imbedded in Koro's gut. The dog considered that the first Seryu was attacked, and it concluded that the second Seryu was an imposter. It growled and readied itself to attack.

The first Seryu then realized that she had won Koro over. She smiled and hugged the dog. "Oh, Koro! You figured it out, you smart dog! Now go, rain the shining light of justice upon our enemies!"

Koro ran towards the second Seryu without a moment's hesitation. Seryu saw the dog coming, and barely dodged. Koro then turned around, and grabbed Seryu's legs. 'Seryu' walked up to the captured target, and examined her prey. "Well done, mutt." She said, and leaned down to Seryu's exposed neck.

Koro realized its mistake too late. Chelsea had already stuck the needle in Seryu's neck and she was as good as dead. Koro swiped at Chelsea, but a bolt flew in front of him. It exploded right by its face, blinding the dog. Koro tried yet again to hit the assassin, but its fists hit thin air. The dog finally gave up, sat down and laid its head on its master. The dog felt the shallow breaths weaken as the seconds passed. And then, nothing. Koro reverted to its smaller form and curled into a ball.

Indra climbed down from the house, surveying the results. "Is she… you know, dead?"

Chelsea nodded. "I'm sure of it."

Indra sighed as he looked at the cause of so much trouble for Night Raid, and then shifted his attention to the dog. "I almost feel sorry for the thing. It's obvious that it loved its master."

"We could take it back to HQ. Maybe there it will find a new master: preferably one who is mentally stable."

Indra agreed. "Well, I guess we need to make sure the battle hasn't gone south." The two turned away from the corpse and the dog and started to run towards the sounds of war.

 **…**

Jacobi barely deflected as Roman swung his sword. Jacobi had quickly realized that _Incursio_ 's strength far surpassed a normal man's. Therefore, Jacobi had resorted to a strategy similar to when he fended off Leone. Jacobi saw Roman falter in his next sword stroke, and used it to get close. He slammed his blade against Roman's armored torso, knocking Roman back a few inches.

Jacobi looked back to Roman's eyes, trying to gauge what his adversary would do next. However, Roman's eyes were almost crazed. They were turning a bloody red, and Jacobi noticed a trickle of blood dripping from his nose. Roman tried to step towards Jacobi, but failed mid-step and knelt. _Incursio_ faded around him, revealing ordinary imperial armor.

Roman finally stood, giving Jacobi a wary look. "What do you know… the boy's gone and gotten some intellect. You planned all along to wear down my Teigu, didn't you?"

"You haven't had possession of it long enough to grow proficient with it. It was only a matter of time until the demands on your body would be too great."

Roman snorted. "Who do you think you are, some kind of teacher? Giving me a lecture on your acquired wisdom? You make me sick." Roman spat, staining the ice below with blood.

Jacobi watched in astonishment as a single tear rolled down the man's cheek. Roman noticed it and wiped it away quickly, then threw multiple sword swings at Jacobi.

"You caused me so much pain… my family so much pain… and then show back up years later as a rebel?!"

Jacobi blocked Roman's finishing strike, noticing the difference between _Incursio_ 's strength and Roman's. "I follow the path that I believe in."

"The path you believe in?! That's ludicrous and you know it!" Roman starts to nearly scream, his emotions overwhelming him. "That 'path' is what killed my daughter! It's what killed your town, your friends, and your family!" Roman locked his sword with Jacobi's, then kicked Jacobi away. "You have done nothing but cause pain for those around you!"

Jacobi wanted to say that Roman was lying, but he knew in his heart that it was true. Every word of it. He looked at Roman, who was now shamelessly letting tears fall.

"I trusted you, Jacobi! You promised!" he shouted. His voice then lowered to a whisper. "My daughter loved you…"

Jacobi dropped his gaze. "I'm sorry. I loved her too."

Roman looked at him, finally realizing how broken Jacobi was. However, he hardened his heart and reminded himself what Jacobi had done. "You don't deserve her love."

Roman rushed Jacobi, sword ready to cut him down. Jacobi twirled around the charge, forcing Roman to the edge of the wall. Roman barely kept himself from falling and turned around to attack again. But Jacobi was already there, too close for Roman's sword to do anything.

The next moment, Jacobi had his sword lodged firmly into a chink in Roman's armor, stabbing through his gut. Jacobi embraced Roman as the wound took effect, the man's eyes starting to gloss over.

"Thank you…" Roman said into Jacobi's ear. "For letting me see my daughter again." And with that, Roman fell off the wall.

With both of their Imperial Arms users dead, the Imperial soldiers began to retreat back to the capital. A shout of triumph rose from the remaining revolutionaries, declaring their conquest to the world. Jacobi didn't hear it though; he just kept looking to the horizon. He felt something warm and wet running down his chest, and a quick inspection revealed the true price of his victory.

 **…**

Chelsea had started looking for Jacobi the moment she heard the victory cry. She ran almost the entire length of the wall, and finally stopped when she saw him. Jacobi teetered precariously on the edge of the wall, a large pool of blood surrounding him.

"Jacobi!" she shouted as she started to run again, worried that he might have been hurt. Jacobi turned when he heard her voice, and a grimace graced his lips. His eyes were on the verge of tears, the pain being too much for him.

Chelsea finally got to him and wrapped him in a hug, not regarding the blood that was staining her outfit. Jacobi pressed his face into Chelsea's shoulder, and finally began to release the tears he had saved for so long.

Chelsea simply held him as Jacobi cried into her shirt. She didn't understand what had happened, but respected the man enough to not say anything about it. Indra finally walked up, seemingly unsurprised to see the two together. He walked to the edge of the wall and started to look at the war-torn town.

"Well, we won. This little town at the edge of Imperial territory is now under the control of the Revolutionary Army." Indra's voice was flat, showing no elation at the accomplishment. "Yay."

Chelsea followed Indra's gaze to see all of the bodies that lay before the wall. Imperial, Revolutionary, they all lay together in death. _'So this is what war looks like. I don't think even I could account for so many bodies.'_

Jacobi's tears dried and he picked his head off of Chelsea with a barely audible, "Thanks." He then took a few deep breaths. "So we won?"

Indra nodded. "Yep. This worthless town is now ours."

"But we still recovered an Imperial Relic. At least Tatsumi will be happy." Jacobi said.

"Two Imperial Relics," Chelsea corrected. "We managed to kill Seryu."

Jacobi looked to Indra, who nodded his confirmation. "The psycho girl is down for good. And the world is better off because of it."

Satisfied, Jacobi looked to the rising sun. The Revolution had officially begun. Only time would tell how it would end.

 **…**

 **Alright, this one's a bit longer than usual so I'd appreciate any feedback you guys have for it. Also, I'll obviously be working on the other story next, so I'd appreciate anybody who's also a Fairy Tail fan to go check that out. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you next time.**


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